


Periods, Timelines, and Exclamation Points

by Izzyface



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU - No Island, Descriptions of Pain, F/M, Felicity Smoak is AWESOME, Friends to Lovers, Life-changing decisions, Medical Situations, Misdiagnosis, Slow Burn, WIP, issues affecting women, personal decisions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-11-12
Packaged: 2019-04-06 18:04:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14062422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izzyface/pseuds/Izzyface
Summary: Felicity Smoak has a PLAN for her life. At 25, she is the youngest Director of IT in the history of Queen Consolidated and on track to be the next VP of Technology for the Fortune 250 company. But that's before everything in her life starts to go haywire.So... I'm not going to finish this. Sorry. :/





	1. Back Pain & Stomach Cramps

**Author's Note:**

> Very much a work-in-progress and my goal is to update every 2 weeks or so. More if I can crank out some chapters in the 20 days while I'm off work (yay Achilles' surgery recovery?)... 
> 
> This subject matter is highly personal to me, and Felicity's journey will be too. I'm not certain if she'll end up taking the same road I took or not. I haven't decided yet. 
> 
> Comments & kudos are definitely welcome.

* * *

As the youngest Director of IT in the history of Queen Consolidated, Felicity Smoak felt it was important that she arrive at work at least thirty minutes before everyone and stay until six every day. Sick days were strictly reserved for days when she was delirious with fever or so contagious she was a risk to everyone she encountered. Since she’d started as an IT grunt five years ago, she prided herself on the number of sick and vacation days she’d racked up since then. The blonde _only_ took vacation days when human resources forced her or otherwise she would lose them.

As a _woman_ it was equally important to never take a sick day because of a _menstrual issue._

Felicity tried to remember this as she stood up and tried to stretch the cramp that had settled low in her back. Periods were never fun, but this one seemed like it was coming on with a vengeance. Not only did her back hurt, but so did the lower part of her belly. And she’d maxed out on Advil two hours ago.

She wiggled in her chair, trying to find a comfortable way to sit. Felicity had ordered this chair especially for the lumbar support, but it was currently the Devil. “Screw it,” she muttered. The blonde slipped her shoes off and picked up her tablet. There was a reason she kept the small couch in her office. A last minute decision made her grab her water bottle and the Advil.

She was young. Her liver would recover.

The Vice President of Marketing found her there forty minutes later with legs curled under her, and her eyes closed. One arm was wrapped around her stomach and the other thrown over her eyes. Oliver Queen took a moment to smile fondly and snap a picture on his phone before he woke her up. She’d be mad at him later, but he didn’t care.

It was no secret that he thought she worked too hard. Other than his father and the custodial staff, Felicity was always the first one at the office each morning. She usually left after he did every night, too. Her department was always in the black. He heard what other people said about her and how she got her job. What’s worse, Oliver knew that Felicity heard what they said too. Even if the entirety of the QC staff thought they were hooking up, Felicity never seemed to let it bother her. They were friends who happened to work together.

Besides, Felicity was too smart to put up with his shit for any length of time, and Oliver knew it. He might have considered pursuing something with her when they first met, but he ruined it the moment he opened his mouth and dropped one of his typical lines. Felicity told him quickly that she A) didn’t date frat boys and 2) wasn’t interested in sleeping her way to the top. Once he realized she wasn’t just another blonde in a short skirt, Oliver found one of the best friends he ever had.

If his thoughts sometimes strayed into non-platonic areas, well… she looked _really good_ in a skirt. Her ass was fantastic.

He watched her shift on the too small sofa, and reached for her shoulder. “Hey, sleepyhead.”

“Hmmm?”

“Wake up, Lissy.”

“Don’t call me that.” Her eyes were still closed. “Wait, where am I?”

“Your office.” Oliver smiled brightly when her eyes popped open. “It’s just me.”

Felicity immediately reached up to check for drool. “I was reading last week’s download log and I guess I conked out.”

“My grandma uses the word ‘conked,’ Felicity. She’s the only person I’ve ever heard use it.” His eyes shifted to the tablet in her lap and he sighed. “I can’t believe you spend your time reading that download log.”

“We need to know who is using company time to download inappropriate material, Oliver.” Felicity picked up her tablet. “I should go back to my desk and finish up.”

He saw her wince as she tried to stand and reached out to offer her a hand. “What’s up?”

“My back has been bothering me, is all.” She tried to twist from side to side to stretch the muscles. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

He reached around and pressed a hand above where her kidneys were. “Here?” When she shook her head, Oliver moved his hand lower. “Here?” Felicity hissed in response. “Hmmm.”

“What?”

“Could be a kidney or bladder stone trying to pass.”

“I doubt it.” Felicity suspected she knew what it was already, but she didn’t want to discuss it with him. “Did I miss you going to medical school?”

“I have a friend who just took a job at Starling General. And I know stuff,” he defended. “I had a kidney stone the summer after my junior year, actually.”

“I see.” She stepped away from his hand. “And if it’s a kidney or bladder stone? What then?”

“Trust me, it’s going to hurt like hell. You should see a doctor for some pain meds. Drink lots of water and cranberry juice. Not as a mixer for vodka, either.”

She laughed. “Sounds like you do have experience.” Felicity smiled at him. “I’ll take that into consideration. But it’s probably nothing, I’m just tired.”

“Then you should go home,” Oliver offered. He glanced toward the clock behind her desk. “I’m sure someone can cover for you for the rest of the day. Take tomorrow off too if you’re not feeling better.”

“What? No, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Felicity.”

“I’m fine,” she attempted to reassure him. “I promise.” Felicity felt her cheeks heat. “Besides, if it’s what I think it is, then I’m just going to have to deal.”

Oliver studied her carefully. From her careful posture to flushed cheeks, he was almost certain that she was referring to her period. “There’s no reason to be embarrassed, Liss. I have a sister. I’ve been on my fair share of tampon runs.”

“Oliver!—”

“Look, when Thea has her… time, she’s impossible,” he continued. Now Oliver could feel his face flush with embarrassment. He gave her his most charming smile. “Go home, Felicity. Eat some chocolate, watch Netflix. Put on your pajamas.”

The blonde pursed her lips at him. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to be irritated or amused. More than anything, she was mortified to be having this conversation with the boss’ son. Nevermind the sort-of, maybe crush she had on him. “Is that what you think women do when they menstrate?”

“I think… that there’s no safe way to answer this question?”

“You’re right. But it also explains why you’re single.” Felicity walked back to her desk and reached for her work tote. “I will go home, but not because you told me too. But because I _am_ tired. And these shoes are pinching my toes, but it’s incredibly unprofessional for me to walk around barefooted.”

“You’ll get some rest?”

She tucked her work tablet into her tote. “After I read last week’s download report.”

“Whatever,” he sighed. “Go ahead and read about the pervs who work here. We all know who the biggest one is anyway.”

“You’ll cover for me with him?” Felicity questioned.

“Yes, I’ll tell my dad that you’re genuinely sick and that I made you leave because of it. Who knows, maybe he’ll think I’m showing _initiative_ or _drive_ or one of those other things he wishes I had more of when he lectures me during Monday night dinners.” Oliver squeezed her shoulder in comfort. “Now get out of here.”

She smiled at him. “Thanks, Friend.”

***

After an absurdly long nap, Felicity woke up feeling refreshed. She still felt uncomfortable in her back and stomach, but she chose to ignore it for now. She grabbed her tablet and checked her calendar, wanting to be sure she was right about her period coming up.

As she counted back, she realized her last one had only ended sixteen days ago. Weird. And it was ten days long. She went back to the previous month and saw that one was longer too, and there was a shorter time between them. In fact, it’d been happening for the last six months.

Hmmm. She made a note to call her gynecologist if this one was long, too. Even with the weird menstrual cycles, Felicity figured she had at least six more days before she’d actually start. She sighed. Did that mean six more days of back pain and stomach cramps? She was going to need more Advil. Or something stronger.

Felicity forced herself to get up and into the shower. Maybe the hot water would relax her muscles and she could run to the market for groceries and other supplies, without absolutely needing to be somewhere she took her time and tried to relax. Her body was probably trying to tell her to slow down and take a breath, and she wasn’t listening.

Oliver was right and she needed the day off. For a minute she entertained taking the next day off as well, but she knew she never would. Felicity had too many people depending on her at Queen Consolidated to not show up. There were always reports to write, computers to fix, and passwords to reset. Plus, she was particularly protective of the server and firewall there. When she first moved to Star City she’d warbled between QC and Merlyn Global, but it was the size of the server at Queen Consolidated that won her over. And after five years she finally was in charge of it all (along with the CIO and Robert Queen, but those were just semantics).

Once her fingers started to prune and the water turned tepid, Felicity shut the shower off. She wrapped herself in a large, fluffy yellow towel and walked back to her room. Most days she wore dresses and skirts (even on the weekends), so she pulled on a pair of leggings, and a long tunic. The blonde could still feel how the heels from earlier pinched her toes, so she grabbed her favorite panda flats and slipped them on. After some product in her hair and minimal make-up, she was ready to go. She stopped at the mirror by her front door, and Felicity knew she looked years younger than 25, but she didn’t care. She was going out to run errands on a Tuesday afternoon, not out for drinks with friends on a Friday or Saturday night.

Her keys and purse were by the door where she left them, so she grabbed them too. When Felicity checked her texts she couldn’t help but smile at one message in particular.

 **Oliver, 3:27:** _Hope you’re resting, but wanted to check in. FYI - I’m single because I choose to be, not because I have to be. ;P See you tomorrow._

 


	2. NSAIDs & Peace Offerings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity is not very good at accepting help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Big shout-out to MISSYriver who took the time plan with me and then beta this chapter. I think she likes me. 
> 
> Still no update schedule. Oh! And still no surgery - been bumped to Wednesday. Who knew surgeons got sick?

* * *

It was Friday.

Felicity just needed to make it through today and she was home free until Monday. Nevermind that she didn’t make it to the office until after 10 a.m. because her back was still bothering her. All in all it was not a great morning so far, and she was not in the best of moods.

What she wasn’t expecting was Oliver seated on the sofa in her office, his laptop on the coffee table in front of it. He had paperwork spread all around him as he studied a file in his hand. “Good morning,” he greeted her.

“If you say so.” Felicity walked immediately to the Kuerig in her office and turned it on. This would be her fourth cup of coffee this morning, but it was absolutely necessary. She wasn’t a side sleeper, but it was almost impossible to sleep on her stomach or back with the way they were both aching. What’s worse, it felt like the pain was starting to radiate down her left leg towards her knee. Never in her life had she wished for her monthly menstruation to start so much.

“What’s up?” Oliver stood and walked to where she stood. He immediately noticed the lines of tension around her eyes and mouth. “You don’t look so hot.”

“Just what every woman wants to hear, Oliver.”

“You know what I mean.” He touched her shoulder. “Is your back still bothering you?”

Felicity shifted away from him and started making her coffee. “It’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Obviously not.” Oliver saw the way she was holding herself straight, her abdomen pulled in tight, her legs perfectly straight all the way down to the wedges she wore. “No stilettos today.”

“My back wouldn’t tolerate it,” she murmured. She carefully measured the amount of half and half she poured into her coffee and turned towards him. “Is there something I can help you with or are you just here to play twenty questions?”

“Dad has a meeting with Malcolm Merlyn and is trying to drag me along. I figured I’d hide out here until after he left.” He gestured back to where he was working. “I brought some work with me.”

Felicity narrowed her eyes. “I see.” It was something he’d done multiple times in the past, and it’d never bothered her before. “I have a lot of work to do today.”

“Have you made an appointment with your doctor yet?” he pressed. “About your back.”

“You want me to see a doctor because of some painful menstrual cramps?”

“Are they usually this painful?” Oliver questioned. He tried to remember if any of the other woman in his life ever experienced anything like this. His mother would never discuss this with him, and while Thea complained about her monthly cycle Oliver didn’t recall it being out of the ordinary painful. The few girlfriends he had who were comfortable bringing it up with him always complained they were _miserable_ during that time, but he never took them literally.

“Is that really any of your business?” the blonde retorted. Felicity was tired and cranky and _done_ discussing this with him. “You’re not my boyfriend or my caretaker, Oliver. I’m a grown woman and I’ve been taking care of myself for a lot longer than you’ve been in my life, so please just drop it.”

“Yeah, well somebody has to take care of you if you’re not going to take care of yourself!” Oliver went to where his things were and gathered them quickly. “I’m just trying to help, Felicity. But you’re stubborn as hell, like always. You know where to find me if you need me.”

She watched him leave without another word, and promptly burst into tears. This was not what she needed today. She’d come to work because she wanted to test out some new code on the firewall, but it was something she could easily do from home. Felicity quickly poured her coffee she’d made into her travel mug and then tapped out a message to HR and the CIO on her tablet letting them know she was taking a sick day. Two in one week. Maybe the sky really was falling.

It was Friday, after all. She could try again on Monday.

***

On her way home, Felicity stopped by her favorite deli for an early lunch and a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream. It was her reward once she finished the firewall coding. While her food was being prepared, she stepped next door to the drug store and studied the pain relief aisle. She’d done some research online, and it really wasn’t recommended that she take more than 1200 milligrams of NSAIDs each day. And she could alternate Tylenol with her Advil or Aleve, but in the last week Felicity found that Tylenol really didn’t help with the pain at all.

Instead of buying more medicine (to add to the 300 count bottle of Advil she’d bought on Tuesday), she purchased a large heating pad and three different boxes of pads she could stick on her back that should help with the pain. At this point she was desperate and willing to try anything.

After picking up her food and getting back in her car, Felicity finally gave in and called her gynecologist’s office. Only to be told that Dr. Schwartz was out of the office until the following Wednesday, but one of the other doctors in the practice was available to see her on Monday. She declined that offer and set an appointment with her regular doctor on Wednesday morning, determined she’d be fine until then.

Once at home, Felicity quickly changed into her most comfortable pajamas and turned on her favorite favorite Doctor Who Christmas Specials on Netflix. Even if it’s September, it was always time for Who Christmas Specials according to Felicity. As she ate her lunch and ice cream, it wasn’t lost on her the other day Oliver had described this exact scenario to her when they were in her office.

She dropped her spoon in the ice cream and set it to the side. She knew she should probably apologize to him for pushing him out of her office this morning. There’d been no right side of the bed for her to get up on and then suddenly there he was, commenting on how _not so hot_ she looked.

Which is just what every woman wanted to hear from the man she might have a teeny-tiny crush on. It was bad enough he was aware she was about to start her period, but to also know it was causing her this much trouble made it ten times worse.

Felicity shook her head in frustration and reached for her ice cream. She didn’t know what to say to him. He was her friend but that still didn't give him the right to butt his nose into her business? Especially her _extremely personal_ business when she had worked so hard to keep a professional distance with him at work. Couldn’t he see she was dealing with this the best she could?

She’d talk to him on Monday, but not before. Until then she was going to try to relax. With that thought she started the first Christmas Special and reached for her tablet.

Several hours later Felicity woke up with a start. The message on her screen asked her if she was still watching and her tablet and fallen between the cushions.

What woke her? There was a noise… a drumbeat? Felicity shook her head and wiped at her eyes, trying to wake up. Coffee… she needed coffee. And some more Advil. Then there was a knock on her door. “Ugh.”

Oliver was standing there, still in his suit from earlier. He smiled at her pajamas and wild hair. “Did I wake you?”

She shrugged at him. “What’s up?”

“Can I come in?” he asked. Oliver held out a bag. “I brought a peace offering.”

“Oooh.” Felicity stepped aside. “What’s in the bag?”

He followed her to the couch, sat down without permission, and started unpacking the paper bag. “I called the mansion and asked Raisa to make you some soup. One of the drivers brought it into town for her. Gnocchi, of course, because I know it’s your favorite. And I did some Googling and found these,” he held multiple miniature bags up of herbs, each with individual labels for contents and instructions, “for you to try. I went down some dark holes on the Internet in order to find these, and then drove over to Art of Tea for some additional help.”

“Oliver,” she sighed.

“Look, I’m really here to tell you I’m sorry. I crossed a line that I shouldn’t have, and I thought it would go over better if I came with gifts.” He gave her a genuine smile. “I know you can take care of yourself. Just sometimes, I—”

“Hey, I know,” she cut him off. Felicity smiled down at what he had brought her. “You didn’t have to do all of this.”

“I know.” Oliver started to reach for her, but stopped himself. He still remembered how she shrugged him off earlier in her office. “It’s just… I don’t want to lose you, is all.”

“You’re not going to lose me, I promise.”

She grabbed the gnocchi and stood up. “Do you want a bowl?”

“I’m meeting Thea for dinner,” he confessed. “I only stopped by to bring you these things.”

“Oh.” Felicity poured a bowlful of soup out and put the rest into her refrigerator. “What else are you up to tonight?”

“I promised her I would stop by Verdant.” Oliver watched as she made herself a cup of coffee, stopping himself from asking if it was decaf. “Thought I might remind Roy that Thea still has a disapproving older brother. It’s been almost two weeks.”

Felicity rolled her eyes. “I know you really like him.”

“Of course I do,” he admitted. “How can I not like someone who makes my sister that happy? But I want him to continue to make her happy. So really the older brother card is for her benefit.”

Felicity couldn’t contain her giggle. “Well, I won’t keep you.”

“Hey, I didn’t ask, but how are you feeling?”

She shrugged. “Medium to low? I called my doctor’s office to make an appointment, but she can’t see me until Wednesday. I’ll be okay until then.”

“I’m glad you called at least.” He reached forward and squeezed her shoulder. “I should get going.”

“Thank you, Oliver.”

“I’ll see you on Monday.”

After he left, Felicity ate her soup in silence, her brain still foggy around the edges with sleep. She considered another episode of Doctor Who but she’d finished the David Tennant specials, and nothing else was really appealing to her. It was barely seven o’clock and her bed was calling her name. The short nap she’d taken was nice, but she was definitely still at a deficit given her lack of sleep the night before.

Decision made, Felicity cleaned up her dinner and grabbed her heating pad. In the restroom she quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth, and locked up her apartment. She plugged up the heating pad and turned on the sound machine, and climbed into bed. Sleep claimed her in a matter of minutes.

***

When she woke up Felicity was disoriented and in pain. So much pain. Her back hurt too much to move, she laid there and hoped it would pass. After what felt like an hour, Felicity inched towards her nightstand and her phone. It was time to give up and see a doctor.  

Instead of reaching her phone, she knocked it on the floor. “Damn!” she yelled. Felicity took several sustaining breaths and pushed herself up. The blonde carefully reached over and with a scream she grabbed her phone. As she remained hanging over the side of her bed, Felicity opened her contacts and thumbed down to the ‘D’ section. Without second thought she pressed the button for John Diggle, who answered on the second ring. 

John voice was alert. “What’s wrong, Felicity?”

“I need you.”

“Huh?” She heard him say something to Lyla, his wife. “What’s going on?”

“I need to go to the ER. Can you come over and drive me?”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Hold tight, okay?”

Felicity sobbed in relief. “Use your key.”

“I’ll be there soon.” She could hear shuffling on his side of the line. “Just hold on, okay.”

“Thank you John.”

* * *

Things coming up: We meet Diggle and Lyla, Tommy meets Felicity, & Isabel! 


	3. Diagnosis: Kidney Stones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dr. Merlyn... Paging Dr. Merlyn...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to the mad genius, love of my life MISSYriver. :) 
> 
> Likely the last chapter for a week... but you never know. And those of you reading & commenting? MWAH.

* * *

The emergency room at Starling General was deserted in the middle of the night. Being late Friday-slash-early Saturday Felicity expected more drunks, or car crashes, or _something._  Instead it was just her, three college students who all looked like they needed a banana bag, and then a man in a wheelchair who was bleeding below his knee. A uniformed officer accompanied him and he looked like he’d been involved in an alcohol induced car crash.

John Diggle shifted in the too small seat beside her. “How’re you doing?”

Felicity shifted her ice pack. “I’m okay.” She moved slightly. “You know, I feel better now. You can probably take me home.”

“No,” he disagreed. John couldn’t forget the way he’d found her, hanging off the side of her bed with silent tears leaking down her face. “You’re seeing a doctor.”

“Fine,” she muttered. “Why did I call you again anyway?”

“Heard that.” John wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. “You called me because you knew once I got you here you’d want to back out and I wouldn’t let you.”

“Sounds about right,” Felicity agreed. She propped her head against his shoulder. “Thank you for coming.”

John Diggle was her person. When she first moved to Starling City, fresh out of MIT and with only the promise of a one year job at QC, Felicity signed a lease in a Glades-adjacent studio walk-up that allowed her to save most of her paycheck each month. John was her first neighbor, first friend, and the one who saved her from all the bugs. At the end of that year, they both moved—Felicity to a nicer apartment because Queen Consolidated gave her a permanent position and John into a house with Lyla, his then fiancé and now wife.

But that didn’t mean he stopped being her person. Despite the physical distance between them, they still talked often. And in addition to John she got Lyla too.

“Did you call Oliver?” John asked.

“What? No. Why would I do that?” She lifted her head off of his shoulder. “Oliver and I are just friends.”

“I know that’s what you like to tell yourself. But you and Oliver Queen are not just friends.”

John had met Oliver a handful of times, every time they’d interacted he’d seen how the younger man watched Felicity.

Growing up in Starling City, John was familiar with Oliver’s reputation and when he’d first showed up to help Felicity move out of her crappy apartment, John had been hesitant on her behalf. But Oliver wore his heart in his eyes every time he looked at Felicity, and John knew Felicity was in no danger when it came to Oliver.

Felicity shifted uncomfortably. “Oliver and I—” Whatever she was about to say say stopped as a nurse called her name from the door. She looked at John. “I’ll text you when you can come back, okay?”

“I’ll be here.” He walked with her to the door. “I’m going to update Lyla, okay?”

She smiled at him as the door closed behind her. Felicity walked with the nurse, she verified her name and date of birth. Once they arrived at a room, she sat down in the chair instead of the bed.

The nurse busied herself by pulling out a hospital gown from one of the drawers beneath the table. “Can you tell me what’s going on?” she asked. 

“I’ve been having some pain.” Felicity pressed her hand to her lower back, “Here,” and then to her lower stomach, “And more painful than usual cramps, too.”

“How would you describe the pain? Throbbing? Stabbing? Shooting?” The woman, whose tag identified her as Brandy, logged onto the computer. “Does it come and go or does it hurt all the time? Is there anything that makes it better or worse?”

“Throbbing, I think,” Felicity answered. “And it’s pretty constant.” She bit her lip. “I’ve been dealing with it for a little less than a week now, but it woke me up tonight and I could hardly move it hurt so much.”

The nurse made a note in the computer. “On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate it right now?”

“Right now? About a seven.”

“How have you been managing your pain?”

“Alternating Advil and Tylenol every few hours. Advil usually takes the edge off, Tylenol not so much,” she told her. “I’ve been worried about over doing it with the medicine, but I still need to work. A friend looked up some herbal teas for me, but I haven’t had a chance to try them out. I started using a heating pad earlier today and that seemed to help some.”

The other woman nodded. “You mentioned cramps. Do you think they’re menstrual?”

“Eh… I guess?” Felicity answered. “My cycle has been wonky the last few months. Stress, I guess.”

She made another note in the computer. “Okay. Well, we’ll see about getting you some pain medication. You had someone drive you, correct?” At Felicity’s affirmative nod, she continued, “Great. It’s not too crazy around here yet, so maybe it won’t be too long before the doctor sees you. Until then, go ahead and change into that gown.” The technician glanced at what she was wearing. “You can keep the yoga pants on, but you’ll need to undress completely up top. Do you have any questions for me?”

Felicity shook her head. “No, I’m good. Thanks.”

When the other woman left, Felicity quickly shed her long sleeved shirt and bra in exchange for the hospital gown. And that’s when the wait began. The clock on her phone indicated it was just after 4 a.m., which explained why she was so tired. In an effort to get some rest, she crawled up on the hospital bed and laid down on her right side and closed her eyes. Except that was miserable. Sitting up, she fumbled around for the remote for the bed and adjusted it so that she was laying back at an angle and felt some of the pressure release off her back and stomach. Felicity pulled the thin blanket up over her arms and closed her eyes.

She lay like that until there was a knock on the door. She opened her eyes in time to see a man in a white coat, stethoscope, and dressed in scrubs enter. Felicity pushed herself up fully.

“Ms. Smoak?” He looked up from his clipboard. “Hi, I’m Dr. Merlyn.”

Felicity stuck out her hand. “Felicity.” After they shook hands, he walked to the computer and logged on. She watched him carefully. So this was Oliver’s best friend, who she’d heard numerous things about but never met. Last she’d heard he’d just finished up a residency in Chicago, but he must have taken a full time position at Starling General.

“It says here that you’re experiencing some back pain,” he noted. “When did it start?”

“About a week ago?” she answered. Felicity could only imagine Oliver and this guy when they were younger. Oh the havoc they must have wreaked and teenage girls they likely corrupted. “I need to make a confession, Dr. Merlyn.”

“What’s that?” he was still looking at the computer screen.

“You and I have a friend in common. A very good friend.”

“Oh?” He turned to look at her, smile in place. “Who’s that?”

“Oliver Qu—”

“You’re _that_ Felicity Smoak!” he interrupted her. “You’re the one who stole my best friend while I was off finishing up my medical degree.”

She smiled at him. “Guilty?”

“Well then, call me Tommy.” He ran his eyes over her, and shook his head. “Yeah, I never had a chance when it came to you.”

“What’s that mean?”

Tommy shook his head again. “Nothing.” He rubbed his hands together. “Lean forward, I’m going to examine your back.” Felicity did as he said and Tommy started to press gently on different spots on her back. When he reached the lower left side she hissed in pain. “That hurt?”

“Yes.” When he pressed hard, she yelped. “Hey!”

“Almost done.” He quickly examined the right side, and noted that he didn’t get the same reaction from her. “Interesting.” Next, he had her lay on her back and he pressed against her stomach. It was tender, but not as reactive as her back. “So, I think you have a kidney stone.”

“Really? What would cause that?” she asked. It was the same thing Oliver had mentioned, but Felicity hadn’t really taken him seriously.

“A kidney stone is a hard deposit like a mineral or salt inside your kidney. From your symptoms and what you’ve said, it seems like they’ve tried to pass on their own but they’re stuck somewhere in your urinary tract. What I’d like to do is take a CT with contrast to confirm and then get you some pain medication to take home, okay? It could take several weeks for a kidney stone to pass.”

Felicity nodded her agreement. She thought about pressing him, because he hadn’t really answered her question. But as soon as he left she assumed she could google what caused a kidney stone to form.

Tommy went back to the computer and started to put in orders. “Wait until I tell Oliver that you and I have met. He’s going to flip.”

“Hey, no.” When he looked at her, Felicity shook her head. “You can’t tell Oliver that I’m here in the middle of the night, okay? He would _not_ take it well.”

“Of course I won’t tell him _how_ we met, Felicity,” he assured her.

“No,” she cut off whatever he might say next. “We’ll arrange lunch or coffee or whatever. But this does not come up at all. Oliver would freak if he knew I was in the hospital and didn’t call him.”

He didn’t understand, but Tommy nodded in agreement. “Someone will be in soon with the contrast you need to drink. It tastes horrible, but you still have to drink it. It takes about an hour for it to get in your system so we can see what we need to see. I’m also going to send someone in with some pain meds, okay?”

Felicity smiled. “Thanks, doc.”

He returned her smile. “Absolutely.” Tommy paused at the door and looked back at her. “It was nice to finally meet you, Felicity.”

“You too,” she agreed.

Once he was gone she texted John her room number and invited him to come sit with her. Felicity took the blanket and tucked it around her like it was a shawl, making sure all of her parts were covered before he arrived.

John got there at the same time as Brandy returned pushing a silver tray with two cups on it. Felicity had to tell her her name and date of birth again, and she watched as the woman scanned her arm band and entered codes on the computer, before she finally explained the doctor had prescribed her some Tylenol-3 for pain. They reviewed her allergies (again) and once they confirmed she wasn’t allergic to codeine, Felicity took the pill with the water.

When she left, she turned to John. “They think it’s kidney stones.”

“Hmm.”

“What?” she asked.

“I had guys in my unit in Afghanistan who suffered from kidney stones. It was usually because of dehydration due to sweat, or a high-sodium diet, or just family history.” He looked at her. “Now, those don’t guarantee you’re going to get them, but it’s pretty likely. You’re also more likely to get them if you’re overweight… and since you weigh about one-ten soaking wet, I’m guessing that’s not the issue.”

Felicity shrugged. It was true, she had never been dehydrated due to sweat in her life (in fact, she was pretty sure she was allergic to exercise), and other than coffee, herbal tea, and wine, water was _all_ she drank. And her diet, well she wasn’t the _healthiest eater_ but usually John and Oliver got enough vegetables in her that it offset her Big Belly Burger consumption. “You never know, my dad could have a life-long condition suffering from kidney stones.”

“Felicity.” His tone was deadpan. “Now is not the time to be funny.”

“I’ve made an appointment for this upcoming Wednesday with my doctor, John.” She looked down at her nail beds and frowned at a cuticle. “I don’t know if it’s a kidney stone or not. I don’t _think_ it is, but I’ll let them check.”

“Why?” John pressed.

She was saved from answering when the room opened. It was a new person this time, again pushing a silver tray. “Ms. Smoak?”

“That’s me,” she answered.

“Dr. Merlyn ordered a CT with contrast, so I’m here with the contrast.” He held up the plastic bottle that was full of a pinkish purple mixture. “It’ll take about an hour after you finish this before we can take the CT, so make sure you let your nurse know when you’re ready, okay?” He rolled the tray with the bottle and an empty cup over towards her. “Sorry about the taste, by the way.”

Felicity nodded. “The doctor warned me.”

When he finished up at the computer, he left without another word. Felicity reached for the plastic bottle and opened it. She poured herself a cup full, watching as the thick mixture filled the cup. Once she finished, she carefully recapped the bottle and sat it back on the tray. Felicity was aware that John was watching her do all of this. She reached up and plugged her nose, and then took a large gulp of the drink. “Yeech.”

Her companion smothered a laugh. “Sorry.”

“That’s truly disgusting.” Felicity leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and would sip from the cup every minute or so. “I want it to be kidney stones,” she confessed. She turned her blue eyes on him. “My menstrual cycle has been _off_ for months now, and I didn’t notice until recently, so I made an appointment with my gynecologist for Wednesday. Now I can’t shut my brain off about what it _could_ be. From the mundane things like an ovarian cyst to the catastrophic like cancer. And I know— _I know_ —that jumping to conclusions is helping no one, but I can’t help it.

“I’m trying to stay optimistic but it’s not working. And now I can’t stop thinking about all the things that I thought I’d have time for later, but suddenly maybe not. I’m 25. I’m supposed to have time. I thought I had time.” Felicity closed her eyes again. “Have my priorities been all screwed up all along? I was so focused on getting out of Vegas, getting my degrees at MIT, and now my career—but what if I was focused on the wrong things?”

John pressed his hand against her forearm. “Stop it,” he told her. “You’re working yourself up over something when you don’t even know what it is yet. So stop it.” John pulled his chair forward and took his hand in hers. “We’re going to finish here tonight and you’re going to go home and get some sleep. After that, there will be no more freaking out until Wednesday when you see your doctor, okay.”

She nodded her head in agreement. Felicity leaned up and refilled her cup, silently drinking more. They sat in silence, John holding her hand in comfort. No more words were needed between them.

When she finished the contrast, she pressed the button like she was told to. She and John sat there together, talking quietly, while she waited for a response. To her surprise, it was Tommy who appeared at the door. “You rang?”

She smiled in genuine surprise. “Dr. Merlyn!”

“Yes, Ms. Smoak?”

With her free hand, she gestured toward the empty bottle. “I finished. I was told to tell someone when I did.”

Tommy’s eyes widened. “That was quick.” He stepped into the room, taking in the closeness between the two people, but not saying anything. “Hi, I’m Dr. Merlyn.”

John stood up. “John Diggle. Nice to meet you.” He shook Tommy’s hand. “I understand you think it’s kidney stones.”

The doctor nodded. “Yes. We’re going to get a CT to confirm. But that’s what her symptoms indicate.”

Tommy continued to the computer and logged in. “I’m putting in the order for your CT now. It’ll be about an hour, and then we can see about getting you out of here.”

_CODE BLUE, ROOM 206. ALL AVAILABLE PERSONNEL PLEASE RESPOND. CODE BLUE._

The Merlyn heir turned around and smiled. “They brought you the Tylenol-3? How’s your pain level now?”

Felicity nodded. “Probably about a 3? I feel better… I mean, it’s still there, but not quite as bad.”

“Good, good. I was hoping to give you something so that you could still go to work.” He made another note in the computer. “You work in IT, right?”

“Director of IT, yeah. And yes, I need to be able to work. My boss is…” Felicity trailed off, but made a slashing gesture across her neck. Both men laughed at her.

_CODE BLUE, ROOM 206. ALL AVAILABLE PERSONNEL PLEASE RESPOND. CODE BLUE._

Tommy’s eyes widened and he pointed up. “I should probably go see what that’s about.” Felicity didn’t have a chance to respond before he ran from the room.

“Unbelievable,” John muttered.

“What?” she asked. Felicity set the timer on her phone for an hour and laid back. The medicine they gave her did help with the pain. She was starting to feel sleepy, too.

“You’ve already got Oliver Queen sniffing after you, and now Tommy Merlyn?” He shook his head. “You must poop rainbows or something.”

“Oliver and I are _friends_ ,” she repeated her statement from earlier. “And Tommy was just excited to meet me.” Felicity cracked open an eye. “And if you must know, it’s rainbows and sparkles.” The blonde smiled at him. “I think I’m going to take a nap until they come get me for CT.”

“Okay.” John pushed his chair back and stood. “Lyla has to be at the station at 7, so I’m going to call her and let her know what’s going on. I’m also going to call and reschedule my PT sessions for today.”

She stopped him from leaving with a hand on his arm. “Thank you.”

“Don’t ever mention it.”

It was another two and a half hours before they left the hospital, with a diagnosis of kidney stones somewhat confirmed. According to Tommy, the CT showed some shadows that _could be_ stones in her urinary tract. He sent her home with a prescription for 30 Tylenol-3 and instructions to _rest._  There was also a note that wrote her out of work, if necessary. It was a note that Felicity had no intention of using.

John dropped her off at her condo just after 9 that morning. Before Felicity closed the car door, she promised to call him if she needed anything. As she trudged up the stairs to her bedroom all she could think about was getting some sleep. In her bathroom she poured out two Unisom in her hand and swallowed them dry, and then washed her face and brushed her teeth. Not bothering to change into pajamas, she just slipped the yoga pants and bra off and crawled into bed. Sleep claimed her quickly.

* * *

 True facts- Felicity's hospital visit is basically one I had myself about 8 years ago, right down to my ER doctor ignoring a CODE BLUE so he could continue casually chatting with me about my day job. 

Coming up is Monday morning at QC. 


	4. Speculators Gonna Speculate

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity has a REALLY bad day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks to everyone who is reading, commenting, & leaving KUDOS. It means so much... to my beta MISSYriver, I couldn't do this without you. MWAH. 
> 
> Had successful surgery last Wednesday, I've pretty much been in bed since then. Crutches suck as much now as they did when I was a kid. My foot fracking hurts, but I quit my pain meds on Sunday just so I could string two coherent thoughts together. 
> 
> On to the chapter!

* * *

Tylenol-3 was _not_ managing her pain come Monday morning. Especially since Felicity’s pain was related to Isabel Rochev, a five-foot-six Couture-whore in five inch heels. Isabel was not a nice person, but she happened to be the CIO at Queen Consolidated and Felicity’s direct supervisor. It was no secret that Isabel thought Felicity got her job as Director of IT on her knees, which was ironic considering Isabel’s on-going relationship with Robert Queen.

Felicity arrived at work on time to find an email requesting her attendance at 10 o’clock in Isabel’s office. While the email didn’t specifically reference it, Felicity knew it was regarding her recent absences and half-days. She quickly forwarded the email to the Director of Human Resources, inviting him to attend on her behalf. Next, she went through her bag and personal emails and started collecting her different documentation. There was no way she was going to allow Isabel to blind side her. Felicity had been planning to ask for this meeting herself, but not until Wednesday afternoon after she’d visited her gynecologist. She was still unsure if the kidney stone diagnosis she’d received was correct.

In the midst of trying to organize her thoughts, her phone vibrated on her desk. Felicity knew it was Oliver before she even looked.

**Oliver, 9:37:** _You up for dinner tonight?_

Felicity sighed. She hadn’t seen him since before her visit to the ER. She didn’t want to lie to him, but she knew she absolutely could not tell him about going to the hospital. He would overreact and blow things way out of proportion.

**Felicity, 9:38:** _Not sure. Need to check my schedule. Have meeting with She-Dragon in 20._

**Oliver, 9:38:** _So that’s why she’s stomping around up here… Ha. Yes, no… are you free? Going to have Beth call TS and make reservation, need to know number for table._

Frak. She could always cancel later, right? And use her menstrual cycle as an excuse… She wouldn’t be the first (or last) woman in history to do so.

**Felicity, 9:39:** _Fine, I’m free. What’s the big deal anyway?_

When he didn’t respond immediately, Felicity went back to her tablet. She’d left the note from the hospital that wrote her out of work at home, but that was probably for the best. Felicity wanted to work for as long as she could and a doctor’s note indicating she needed to stay at home would more than likely get her sent home. The Tylenol-3 was managing the pain, for now. Besides, it wouldn’t feel right staying at home all day and then going out with Oliver and company at night.

**Oliver, 9:43:** _Tommy finally has night off from work. Thought it’d be a great chance for you to meet him. He brought it up, so I’m just making it happen._

**Felicity, 9:44:** _So I get to meet the (in)famous Tommy Merlyn?_

She tried to ignore the guilt she immediately felt. They didn’t lie to each other. But it was just a little white lie, and she appreciated that Tommy was trying to manage the situation.

**Oliver, 9:45:** _Yep. Laurel will be there too._  

**Felicity, 9:45:** _Oh… Laurel._

**Oliver, 9:46:** _She’s Tommy’s gf. Won’t be so bad, promise._  

Laurel _hated_ her and Felicity was mostly indifferent to the other woman. Because she wasn’t a native of Starling City, she’d missed most of the Sara-Oliver-Laurel-Tommy drama that dominated the local gossip during their late teens and early-to-mid twenties, but she was working in the IT department and friends with Oliver, which gave her a front row seat to the final _final_ break-up between Laurel and Oliver. It didn’t help that there was a friends with benefits situation going on with Sara, Laurel’s younger sister, at that time, either.

Laurel didn’t take the break-up well. And instead of examining any fault she might have had, she lashed out and blamed the different female influences Oliver had in his life. His mother, his sister, his longtime friend McKenna Hall, Sara, and Felicity. And since Felicity was relatively new, and what seemingly had _changed_ in his life… well, Felicity must be at fault.

Felicity sighed. Oliver always looked for the best in people and he’d known Laurel for a long time. But she suspected Laurel was the one who initially started the rumors of the two of them hooking up. Rumors that still plagued her five years later and didn’t have an ounce of truth to them. Oliver Queen thought of her as another sister—she’d discussed her menstrual cycle with him for crying out loud! There was absolutely nothing going on between them.

**Felicity, 9:52:** _Whatever you say. Gotta head upstairs. Your office to debrief?_

When she didn’t receive an immediate response, Felicity went into her settings and turned her phone on do not disturb. While it wasn’t necessary, it was something Isabel preferred during any meetings. She gathered her things and walked to the one elevator that would take her to the executive floors. Once inside, Felicity exhaled slowly. She was not looking forward to this meeting, but it had to be done.

Walter Steele was already in Isabel’s office when Felicity got there. The two of them were sharing small talk, but the blonde knew from Isabel’s posture that she was not happy about the change in plans. “Knock, knock.”

Both occupants looked at her. “Ms. Smoak, we’ve been waiting for you.” The clock behind Isabel indicated that it was not yet 10 o’clock.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” She came in and took the seat next to Walter. “Ms. Rochev, Mr. Steele.”

The older man smiled at her fondly. “Felicity.”

“I was telling Walter that I wasn’t sure why you asked him to attend,” Isabel commented. She tapped at something on her keyboard and her printer whirled to life. “I only wanted to discuss a pattern of absences I’ve noticed in the last week from you, Ms. Smoak. It’s highly unusual.”

Felicity cleared her throat. “Yes, and that’s why I asked for Mr. Steele to be here.” She opened the file folder on her lap. “I’ve been having some medical problems of an unknown origin that have caused those absences, Ms. Rochev.”

“Oh?”

“For about a week now, I guess?” Felicity tapped her finger against one of the papers. “I spent early Saturday morning in the emergency room, and they diagnosed me as having kidney stones.” She passed them both copies of the paperwork she received from the discharge nurse at Starling General. “I’m going to see my regular doctor on Wednesday morning for confirmation.”

“What are your symptoms?”

“Isabel,” Walter interrupted, “that’s none of our business.” He looked at Felicity. “You don’t have to answer that.”

The blonde shook her head. She knew what game the older woman wanted to play. “It’s fine, Mr. Steele. For over a week now I’ve had intense pain in my lower back and the left side of my abdomen. I initially thought they were menstrual cramps, but I woke up in excruciating pain and unable to move on Saturday morning, with no other option but to go to the hospital.”

Isabel leaned forward, as if extremely interested. “They did diagnostic testing to determine it was kidney stones?”

“Yes.” Felicity passed her another paper. “As you can see, they performed a CT with contrast.”

“Oh.” She ran her eyes over that paper, her eyes scanning the different exams and tests performed. “They didn’t do an ultrasound? Why not?” Isabel looked straight at Felicity and smirked. “It sounds like you could’ve been having a miscarriage.”

“Excuse me—”

“Isabel!” Walter blustered, cutting Felicity off. “That is inappropriate.”

The brunette looked at the older man, her smirk gone. “Sorry, Walter. But we all know how _close_ Ms. Smoak is to certain members of the Queen family. It seems like she’s in here asking for  _personal favors_ due to that relationship.”

“I am not!” Felicity defended. She gathered her papers and stood. “I am here because you _summoned_ me first thing this morning. I have fifty-plus sick days and over three months of saved vacation time, but I am here because no one else—including you, Ms. Rochev—can do the job that I do here. If you think you know of someone who can, please point them in my direction and I’ll train them to be my replacement while I take a leave of absence.

“As far as _personal relationships_ with the Queen family?” Her voice was low, for fear of anyone outside overhearing what she was going to say next. “Of the three of us in this room, the only one with that has a—a _tawdry_ relationship with _any_ member of the Queen family is _you_ , and I think we all know it. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be submitting the rest of my paperwork via Mr. Steele and HR. I’ll keep you updated via email, Ms. Rochev.”

By the time Felicity made it down the corridor and into Oliver’s office, she had angry tears streaming down her face. His executive assistant took one look at her and waved her in. “He has 30 minutes before the elder Mr. Queen expects him, dear.” Felicity nodded in understanding.

Oliver was on the phone, but took one look at her and made an excuse to whoever he was talking to. “What happened?” He sat down next to her and passed her a tissue.

“Isabel Rochev is _not_ a nice person.”

***

Felicity almost bailed on dinner at least five times before Oliver arrived to pick her up. She was anxious seeing Tommy so soon after the hospital, not to mention Laurel.  Felicity was still reeling from her encounter with Isabel. Plus, she planned to drink that night and she didn't want her doctor to give her a hard time about mixing pain meds and alcohol.

Work had sent her into a spiral concerning Isabel Rochev.

Like Felicity, Isabel had done her senior internship with Queen Consolidated. It hadn’t led to a job offer, and after finishing her MBA at Stanford, Isabel went to work for Stellmoor International, a Russian backed company known for swooping in and buying dying corporations and breaking them apart. After five years there, Isabel interviewed at QC again, this time successfully. By then Moira Queen had left QC for City Hall, and it was no surprise how quickly Isabel rose through the ranks. There was nothing in her background that qualified her to be the CIO—not even extra technology classes she’d taken as an undergraduate, but Felicity guessed that was one of the perks of sleeping with the CEO. With IT and Applied Sciences both in the black, and both of under competent management, Isabel took all the credit and looked like a genius.

The rumor was that Harold Dennis, the current VP of Technology, was planning to retire at the end of the fiscal year. He was currently Isabel’s direct supervisor and she was the odds-on favorite to take his position. Except it would expose her as even more of a fraud. Felicity had been thinking about throwing her name in the ring. At 25, Felicity was young to be considered for a VP position in a Fortune 250 company, but it was likely that the Director of Applied Sciences was also considering applying. It was possible he’d get the promotion and Felicity would get his position. When the VP position came open again, or Isabel’s CIO position, Felicity would be the favorite.

Great Google, she hated politics at work. She just wanted to go to work, do something she loved, and get paid fairly for it.

Before she could go down _that_ rabbit hole, there was a knock on her door. Oliver was on her approved visitors list, so they didn’t bother to call up anymore. When she opened to the door, she found him still wearing his suit from earlier, minus the tie, and with the top two buttons undone. “Hey.”

He handed her a small bouquet of wildflowers from behind his back. “For you, milady.”

Felicity rolled her eyes at him. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I know after today this is probably the last thing you want to do.” Oliver followed her into the condo, and watched as she put some water in a glass, followed by the flowers. “I appreciate that you didn’t cancel.”

“Didn’t you say we were going to Table Salt?”

“Yep,” he confirmed.

“I’m getting the Rothschild.” Her tone was deadpan, like she hadn’t just informed him she planned to order a $4,000 bottle of wine with dinner. “That’s the only reason I didn’t cancel, and even then I started to about five times.”

Oliver laughed. “Didn’t I tell you that we’re going dutch?”

She grabbed her jacket off the back of the couch. “Har, har. Look who’s got _jokes._ ”

Tommy and Laurel were already waiting for them at Table Salt. As the maitre’d showed them to their table, Felicity saw Tommy stand up, his arms wide open and a big smile on her face, “Felicity! It feels like it’s been forever!”

She wrapped on arm around his back and pinched him. “Oliver doesn’t know we’ve already met, you dingus,” she whispered furiously.

“Forever?” Oliver echoed. He looked between his two best friends. “Have you two met before?”

Felicity shook her head. “Nope. I think what Tommy meant was—”

“I feel like I know her is all,” Tommy interrupted. He looked at Felicity, his eyes confused. He thought for sure she’d change her mind about telling Oliver the truth. “This big lug talks about you all the time.”

“Tommy,” his friend warned. Oliver leaned around Tommy and pressed a kiss to Laurel’s cheek. “Laurel, you remember Felicity.”

“Of course, Ollie.” Laurel gave the blonde a tight smile. “Hello, Felicity.”

Felicity returned her smile. “It’s nice to see you, Laurel.”

The foursome took their seats, Tommy beside Laurel and across from Felicity, who was next to Oliver. A waiter came with bread and olive oil, as well as appetizer plates for everyone. Tommy and Laurel both ordered mixed drinks, and exchanged glances when Oliver ordered a bottle of 1990 Lafite Rothschild for him and Felicity. Once the waiter left, Laurel leaned forward. “Ollie, that was a—”

“—really expensive bottle of wine,” Tommy finished. “What’s up?” He looked between his best friend and his companion for the evening. “Something you two want to share?”

Felicity shook her head and murmured _no._  Oliver reached over and pressed his hand to her back. “Not really. Just a bottle of wine between two friends.”

“A $2000 bottle of wine!” Laurel hissed. She narrowed her eyes at Felicity. “What are you playing at?”

“Hey, hey,” Oliver interrupted. “She’s not _playing_ at anything. Felicity did me a favor and I owed her a bottle of wine as payback.” He turned his gaze to Laurel. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating.”

“Oh, that your new girlfriend is a prostitute?—”

“Excuse me,” Felicity interrupted. Her cheeks for flushed and she was trying to reign in her tongue. “No one has ever paid me for sex, with wine or money, or any other _gifts,_ for your information.” She glanced at Oliver. “What is with people today? Everyone seems to think I’m sleeping with you suddenly.” It was meant to be a rhetorical question. Felicity glanced across the table at Tommy and Laurel and sighed.  They were two of Oliver’s oldest friends and this _was not going well,_ and that felt like an understatement. “I need to go to the ladies room.”

“Felicity,” Oliver protested. He started to stand.

She placed a hand on his forearm to keep him seated. “I’m fine, I’ll be right back. Stay with your friends.”

After he was sure Felicity was out of hearing distance, he turned back to Tommy and Laurel. “I can’t believe the two of you. I had to beg her to come out tonight, and then you attack her before we even order our entrées? What’s wrong with you?”

Tommy held his hands up in surrender. “I just wanted to know about the wine, buddy. If you’re dating, I’m happy for you. Felicity is fantastic.”

“How would you know?” Oliver retorted. “You’ve been around her for about five minutes.” He reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose in frustration. “And for the millionth time, Felicity and I aren’t dating. We’re _just friends._ ”

Tommy sighed. This was an impossible situation. “This isn’t the first time Felicity and I have met, but I _cannot_ tell you the details. As for just friends, Ollie...”

“What do you mean?” the other man cut him off. “Of course you can—”

“No,” Tommy interrupted, “I cannot. HIPPA laws will not allow it. Do you understand?” When Oliver nodded, Tommy continued, “Ask Felicity.”

“Okay.” Oliver turned to Laurel, who was seemingly studying her nails. “And don’t think I’ve forgotten about you.” He stood up and placed his napkin on top of his empty plate. “You and I _will_ discuss this, Laurel. I’ll stop by the front desk and pick up our wine. Stay, eat dinner. I’m suddenly not very hungry anymore. I doubt Felicity is either.”

“Ollie,” Laurel started. At his look, she cut off whatever she was going to say.

He was waiting for Felicity when she left the ladies restroom. Oliver had her jacket in one hand and the wine in another, and was about to suggest they stop at Big Belly Burger on their way back to her condo. Nothing went better with expensive red wine than cheap burgers as far as he was concerned. Then he saw her face—she seemed to have lost all color, and her eyes were rimmed in red like she’d been crying. Felicity was clutching the left side of her abdomen like she was in pain. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Can you drive me to the hospital? I’ve already texted John’s wife, Lyla, and she said she’ll meet us there.”

* * *

So, no medical stuff or advancing of that plot in this chapter. There's been a few questions regarding what's going on with Felicity, specifically if it's cancer. **I promise, it's not.** As I mentioned before - this story is highly personal to me  & actually something I went through myself about 8 years ago (I mentioned that an ER doc gave me the kidney stone diagnosis previously, as he chatted me up while a code blue went off). I was ~27 yrs old at the time and... kind of exploring a different road than the one I ended up taking. Plus, it helps that Felicity has already found her soulmate even if they are  **JUST FRIENDS** like they keep telling everyone. 

The next chapter involves Lyla, another ER, and a frantic Oliver. Plus, stoned Felicity. 


	5. Diagnosis: Ruptured Ovarian Cyst

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's second adventures at Starling General ER, this time featuring Oliver and Lyla.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys!!! I'm blown away by the response I've received. So here, have a chapter (a day early, too).

* * *

This was the first time he’d seen her in this much pain. As he waited for the car in front of him to make the left turn into Starling General, Oliver studied her face. She was pressing a hand to her lower stomach, with her eyes closed. He looked back to the car in front of him, and honked impatiently at the guy who wasn’t turning even though there was an opening.

He impatiently swung his Mercedes around and flipped the bird to the guy who was clearly texting. “Get off your fucking phone,” he grumbled.

Felicity reached over and put her hand over his. “I’m okay.”

Oliver exhaled. “I need to hear a doctor tell me that.” He brushed her hand with his thumb. “How’s your pain?”

She shook her head. “I’ll be glad when they give me the feel-good drugs.”

He eased into a parking spot. “Almost there.” As he released his seat belt he looked at her. “Don’t move.” Oliver jogged around the side of the car and was unhappy to see she’d taken off her seatbelt and had attempted to get out of the car. “I told you to stay put.”

“Sorry.” She didn’t sound sorry at all.

“Arms up,” he told her. He easily leaned over and slid one arm around her back and the other under her knees, effortlessly lifting her from the car. With the flick of a button the car was locked and they were on their way.

When they arrived inside, Oliver was unhappy to see that there were two people in front of them waiting to be checked in. He started to walk around when Felicity stopped him. “There’s nothing that makes my emergency more important than theirs, Oliver.”

“Yes it does,” he argued, “It’s you.”

Felicity pressed a hand to his cheek. “You are a sweet man. But we wait.”

He sighed. He didn’t like it, but he listened to her. On this one thing. Oliver heard someone call Felicity’s name and he swung her around to see a brunette approach from the waiting area. The woman in his arms squirmed until he put her down, but Oliver was careful to keep one hand pressed to her back.

Felicity wrapped Lyla in a hug. “Thank you for coming!”

“Of course,” Lyla told her. “Johnny would’ve come too, but he has back-to-back clients until ten tonight.”

“It’s fine,” Felicity assured her. She looked up at Oliver. “I wanted you to come in case Oliver needed to leave.”

“I don’t have anywhere I need to be,” Oliver assured her. It was their turn with the check-in attendant. He waited patiently as Felicity reviewed her name, address, and date-of-birth. When she started going over her symptoms, he started to get antsy. He could still see the tension lines on her face and hear the pain in her voice. He wasn’t going to let this continue. “Hi,” he interrupted, “Denise?”

“Yes?” She didn’t bother to look at him, too busy entering information into the computer. The printer came to life and she reached for a clipboard. “Can I help you, Sir?”

“Hi,” he repeated. “I’m Oliver Queen. Maybe that means something to you, maybe not. But my family recently paid for the newest operating room in this hospital, and before that the entire children’s wing.” He pulled Felicity closer to his side. “My friend needs to see a doctor as soon as possible. Now, are you going to make that happen or should I call my mother who knows Chairman Scott?”

Denise paled. “One moment, Mr. Queen.” She reached for the phone at her desk and dialed an extension. There was a short conversation with someone on the other end, and she hung up. “If you’ll go wait at the end of Door B there will be someone to escort you back.”

Oliver smiled at her. “Thank you, Denise.” He pressed his hand to Felicity’s back. “Let’s go.”

Lyla followed behind them, unable to keep the grin from her face.

An orderly escorted the three of them to a hospital room and removed a gown from a cabinet. She glanced back at Felicity. “You need to strip completely and put that on. Your nurse and doctor will be in soon.”

As soon as the word _strip_ left her mouth, Felicity looked at Oliver. She couldn’t help it. She felt heat bloom across her cheeks in embarrassment. “You know, you really don’t have to stay,” she told him. “Lyla’s got me covered from here.”

“I’m not leaving,” Oliver assured her. “As long as you’re here, I’m here.”

Felicity sighed. “Could you at least…” she gestured toward the door. “While I change?”

“What?” he asked. “Oh! Yeah, of course.” Now it was his turn to be embarrassed. Oliver pulled the curtain in front of her hospital window and seconds later Felicity heard the hospital door close.

She looked at Lyla and giggled. “It really hurts to laugh.”

The older woman smiled at her. “That man is gone for you.”

“We’re really good friends,” Felicity disagreed. “He sees me like a friend.” Both women worked to get her undressed and into the unflattering hospital gown. “I’m _so_ not his type.”

“What’s his type then?” Lyla asked. She’d moved to Starling City as a teenager when her father’s job transferred them, then stayed for college where she met John. Now, Lyla was the only female detective on the Starling City Police force, something she was immensely proud of. “The only person I’ve ever known him to date was Laurel Lance.”

The blonde stepped out of her shoes and started to pull down her leggings. “Yuck, Laurel. She hates me.”

“Because you broke them up?”

“What? No! Is that what everyone thinks?” Felicity slipped the gown on and Lyla did the ties up in the back. The last thing Felicity did was slip off her underwear. Once all of her clothes were tucked into the plastic bag the hospital provided, she pulled the sheet on the bed back. “Oliver was… not a very good boyfriend. Laurel wanted things he wasn’t ready to give, so he acted out, and he’d cheat on her. Like an idiot, she’d take him back every time. When she found out he was sleeping with her sister, that was the last straw, but somehow over the last five years it’s all become my fault even though I’d just met Oliver and we were starting to become friends then.”

“Ah,” Lyla murmured.

Felicity looked at her. “What’s that mean?”

The other woman shook her head. “Nothing.” Lyla ran her eyes over Felicity, who was all covered up under the sheet. “Okay if I let him back in now?”

“Sure.” Felicity reached down and smoothed the covers again. She also reached up to pat her hair and make sure it was smooth on top.

When Oliver entered, he went straight to her side, his large hand wrapping around hers. “Did the nurse come in yet?”

“Not—” her words were cut off when the second door to the hospital opened an older woman entered. “—yet.”

The threesome watched as the nurse cleaned her hands with sanitizer as she approached Felicity’s bed. “Felicity Smoak?”

“Yes?”

“I’m Sandy, I’m going to be taking care of you.” She glanced up at Oliver. “I understand you’re one of our VIPs in here today.”

Felicity blushed. “No, not really.” She motioned back at Oliver. “Ignore him, he’s all bark, no bite.”

“Honey, I ain’t scared of your boyfriend’s bite.” Sandy looked back down at Felicity. “Tell me what’s going on with you.”

She disentangled her hand from Oliver’s and pressed it to her left side above her pelvic bone. “About an hour ago I had a burst of pain right here and since then it feels like it’s radiating out from that spot.”

The nurse gently pressed against it and Felicity hissed. “Hmmm. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the worst pain you’ve ever felt in your entire life, how would you rate this pain?” As she asked the question, she did an abdominal exam and felt for any other sensitive spots.

“An eight?” Felicity guessed. “I don’t know, it’s pretty bad, but I don’t know if it’s the worst—HOLY MOTHER OF—STOP!” she yelled when the nurse pressed down again, but harder.

“Have you had any other pain recently?” Sandy asked. “Painful periods or painful urination?”

Felicity glanced at Oliver, who shrugged. “No, I’m actually expecting my period. But a few days ago I was diagnosed with kidney stones at this hospital.”

“Oh?” Sandy walked to the computer and started typing. “It says you saw Dr. Merlyn in the emergency room.” She glanced over at the Felicity. “Is that correct?”

The blonde looked at Oliver again. “Yes.” She reached for Oliver’s hand and curled her fingers around his again.

“Okay,” Sandy said. She continued to update the chart. “Your doctor tonight will be Dr. Holt. I’m going to speak to him about getting you some pain medication and what the next step is. In the meantime, sit tight.”

Felicity said nothing and the woman left. She turned to look at Lyla and smiled. “Can you give us the room for a minute?” Her friend nodded and stepped outside. Once they were alone, she looked at Oliver. “So how mad are you?”

“I’m not mad,” he sighed. “I’m disappointed that you thought you couldn’t tell me.”

“It’s not that, Oliver.” Felicity loosened her hand and reached up to press her hand against his cheek. “You do so much for me already, and now you want me to call you in the middle of the night to take me to the emergency room, too?”

He let out a humorless laugh. “You don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?” she questioned.

“When it comes to you, I want everything.” Oliver took the hand pressed to his cheek and kissed her knuckles. “I thought you knew that.”

“Oliv—” Before his name was even out, the door opened again. Felicity swallowed whatever she was going to say and instead asked if he would retrieve Lyla from outside.

Sandy busied herself with hooking Felicity’s IV up and starting a saline drip, all the while chattering about different things. Felicity tried to keep up, but her mind was still on the confession Oliver had just made. What did he mean? Did he mean it like it sounded, or was it possible his words came out wrong?

“Okay, hon,” Sandy told her, “First I’m going to give you some Phenergan for nausea, because the pain meds are going to take you on a ride.” The nurse cleaned the port and put in the needle. “It’s going to feel cold going in.”

Felicity didn’t watch it going in, but she felt it immediately hit her bloodstream. It was cold. “Next, is Dilaudid. It’s going to make you feel nauseous.” She sat a kidney pan on Felicity’s stomach. “If you feel like you’re going to be sick, aim for that.” Again, she cleaned the port with an alcohol wipe and inserted the needle. As soon as the medicine hit her, Felicity felt her body jerk in half in pain and sickness. Oliver and Lyla were immediately at her side, Oliver at her back and Lyla with the pan.

But she didn’t vomit. Eventually the nausea did pass and Felicity just felt nice. So, so nice. Like she was flying on the highest cloud and wrapped in the warmest blanket. She laid back on the pillow and someone wrapped a blanket around her. She heard the nurse say something to her friends, but she didn’t know what it was. Felicity just looked up at the ceiling. Everything was wonderful and nothing hurt.

She lay like that for a few minutes, quietly minding her own business. Felicity could hear Oliver and Lyla talking around her, but she wasn’t concerned about what. Suddenly, the overhead light turned on and a fourth person entered the room. He was carrying some kind of plastic tubing and bag. “Hi!” she greeted him.

“Ms. Smoak?”

“That’s me!” she told him. “Who’re you?”

“I’m Colin.” He gestured to the tubing and bag. “They’ve ordered a catheter for you.”

Felicity kicked her covers down and began to pull up her gown, legs already splayed. “Oh, okay.” She frowned at Oliver when he scrambled to cover up her legs again. “Hey, stop that. He said I needed a cathrdrr.”

“But what for?” Oliver hissed. He glared at Felicity. “You don’t just— _do that!_ ”

“Oh.” The blonde focused on the orderly. “What’s tha cathrttr for?”

“They’re going to do an ultrasound, ma’am. You’re bladder needs to be full.” He looked at Oliver. “I’ll need to get to that side, Sir.”

Felicity looked at Oliver. “It’s for an ultrasound, O’vr. Olvr.” She moved her mouth around. “This thing isn’t working right.” She pressed her fingers to her lips. “Your name is really hard.”

Oliver couldn’t help but be amused. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to her cheek. “Let him put in the catheter, but I’m not leaving the room.”

“Don’t watch!” she told him. Felicity watched him walk do the door, his back turned. “No peeking, Lollie!”

As soon as the orderly was finished and Felicity was back beneath her covers, Oliver was back by her side. Her eyes were closed and he gently took her hand. No one was talking, and it was no surprise when Felicity let out a small snore. Sandy returned and checked her catheter bag. From there she took a small sample and did a pregnancy test and enough urine for a urinalysis. She carefully marked that her patient was not pregnant in her files, her eyes running over the man attached to young woman’s side. Before she left, she glanced back at the two occupants who were awake. “Dr. Holt will be in soon. Sorry for the hold-up, but we have three ambulances come in back to back to back.”

The comment seemed to be made for Oliver’s benefit, and he nodded. He shifted in his seat and glanced over at Lyla. “Did you know anything about her visit the other night?” 

“Only what Johnny told me,” she answered. Lyla studied him carefully, and considered her next words. “When she called it was early Saturday morning and if I recall, she was having trouble moving. Johnny drove to her place, picked her up, and stayed with her. Like the nurse indicated, they diagnosed her with kidney stones and sent her home with pain meds.”

Oliver nodded. He didn’t understand why she called John and not him, but maybe that wasn’t for him to understand. Or maybe it wasn’t something Lyla could answer for him. 

“Can I give you a piece of advice?”

He shrugged. “Sure.”

“Whatever you two are doing?” she motioned between them. “She doesn’t know what it is. She didn’t call you because Johnny is her person. If you want to be her person, then maybe you should speak up, Oliver. Tell her that. See if that’s what she wants.”

“And if it’s not?” he asked, his voice low. It was something he’d never put into words before.

“At least you tried,” Lyla answered. “But I don’t think you’re going to be disappointed.”

They fell back into silence, each to their own thoughts. After about fifteen minutes, Felicity seemed to come to again, and Oliver leaned over to check on her. “Hey there.”

“Hey.” She reached up to wipe at her face. “Did the doctor come in yet?”

Just as he was about to say no, the door opened and a tall African American man entered. His hair was cut short to his head and he wore glasses. “Hi, I’m Dr. Curtis Holt.” He looked immediately to Felicity. “Mrs. Smoak?”

“Present!” She raised her hand from the bed. 

He looked at Oliver. “Mr. Smoak?”

Oliver stood and shook his hand. “No, I’m Oliver Queen.”

The doctor smiled. “Gotcha, sorry. I’m new in town and haven’t had a chance to familiarize myself with the local celebrities yet.” He walked to the computer and signed on. “It seems Ms. Smoak is having pain and discomfort in her left pelvic area?”

“Yes,” Felicity confirmed.

“How many days now?” the doctor questioned.

“Hmmm.” She glanced at Oliver. “Do you know? The medicine is making my brain foggy.”

“Her back has been hurting for over a week, and she mentioned some cramps around that time, too.”

“Oh.” Dr. Holt motioned between the two of them. “So you two are—? Huh.”

“No, no,” Felicity disagreed. “Oliver only dates women who looks like Amazons and Wonder Woman, nothing like little old me.” She could feel the man in question turn and look at her, but didn’t say anything else.

The doctor didn’t comment on anything she said. He was almost sorry he brought it, as it was clearly a sensitive topic. “Is it okay if I share medical information with him then? Since he’s not family?” He glanced at Lyla. “Your sister, too.”

“Not her sister,” Lyla commented.

“Not my sister,” Felicity told him. She huffed. “Just tell me doc. Do I have cancer?”

Dr. Holt laughed. “No, no, it’s nothing like that. I _think_ you have a ruptured ovarian cyst, given the location and type of pain you described. I’m certain you don’t have any kidney stones, given that there is no blood in your urine. If you had kidney stones you’d have blood in your urine.”

Felicity frowned. Had Tommy even ordered a pee test for her? She couldn’t remember.

“So, here’s the thing,” Dr. Holt continued, “We have two options. We assume this ovarian cyst is a one-off and the pain will likely be done in a few days. I’ll give you some Vicodin to ride it out until then. Option two is we go ahead with the transvaginal ultrasound I ordered to determine if there are anymore cysts we should be worried about and then we determine a treatment plan, if necessary.”

“Wait,” Oliver interrupted, “You don’t do anything for the potential ovarian cyst that has already ruptured?”

Dr. Holt shook his head. “Nope. When Ms. Smoak felt the sharp pain earlier, that was likely the rupture. But there are currently no signs of internal bleeding. I won’t say that it’s normal that cysts rupture, but often when small ones rupture women don’t even feel them. But ovarian cysts would explain some of the symptomes Ms. Smoak has been experiencing recently.”

“Such as?” Felicity pressed.

“Pain in your pelvic area, abdomen, and lower back. Radiating pain to other parts of your body. Any nausea and/or vomiting. Fatigue. Pain during or immediately after intercourse. Difficulty with your menstrual cycle or having a menstrual cycle you would consider to be abnormal.” Dr. Holt ticked the list off from memory. “Do any of those sound familiar?”

“Yes,” she nodded. Felicity glanced at Oliver and then Lyla. “And what’s the chance that I have more than one ovarian cyst at a time?”

The doctor nodded. “It’s likely. There are a handful of different types of ovarian cysts, so they might not even all be the same type.”

The blonde tilted her head back and sighed. “Ugh. I hate to say it, but I think we need to do the ultrasound.”

Oliver and Lyla both nodded in agreement. Dr. Holt smiled. “I understand.” He’d been given explicit instructions to do whatever this patient wanted. “I’ll have someone call down so they’re ready for you.”

“Thank you.”

Several hours later, Felicity was regretting her decision to ask for the ultrasound. There hadn’t been anymore cysts and she felt like she’d been _violated_ by the transvaginal probe. All Dr. Holt could tell her was that it was _likely_ a ruptured ovarian cyst, which was almost as good as Tommy’s diagnosis of something that _could be_ kidney stones on a CT scan. Two visits to the emergency room and she was no closer to finding out what was wrong with her. Plus, it was so late it was early Tuesday morning.

As they stood outside, Felicity hugged Lyla tightly. “Thank you for coming.”

“Of course,” the older woman assured her. “I’ll let Johnny know what happened here tonight.” Lyla pulled away and glanced at Oliver. “Take care of her, Queen.”

He nodded. “I do as much as she lets me, Lyla.” Felicity stepped back next to him and Oliver looked down at her. “You ready to go?”

Felicity nodded wearily. “So tired.” They walked Lyla to her car and Felicity hugged her one more time before Oliver turned them around and they started towards his Mercedes. “Thank you,” she said suddenly.

“For what?” He looked down at her. Oliver knew she was dead on her feet.

“Being you.” Felicity reached over and wrapped her arm around his. “I’m not ready yet, Oliver. For everything.”

He disentangled his arms from hers and pressed her to his side. “I can be patient, Felicity.

* * *

 Up Next: Felicity's appointment with her gynecologist and maybe, finally an accurate diagnosis. 

Also, let me give a shout-out to my RL friend Samantha who played my Oliver as I'm showing my va-jay-jay to some unknown orderly at UNC hospital because he said I needed a catheter and I was too high on Dilaudid to ask why. Good times.


	6. Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Felicity's visit with Dr. Schwartz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BIG SHOUT OUT to [MISSYriver](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MISSYriver/pseuds/MISSYriver), which is the only reason you all have something to read this week. Because I messaged her on Sunday night, panicked, because everything I kept trying to write was coming out a big mess. Of course (because she's FANTASTIC), she looked at my outline, told me I was trying to do too much, and narrowed my focus... and VOILA! 
> 
> All that and she beta'd this too. So really, she deserves like 98% of the credit. :)

* * *

Felicity hated waiting. It’d been at least 15 minutes since Dr. Schwartz’ nurse had dropped her off in a room, pulled out a gown, and instructed her to strip from the bottom down. Plus handing her the cup for the urine sample.

And now she was left waiting. Felicity didn’t consider herself to be a patient person. Not to mention she really felt like _today was the day._  Today she was going to find out what was wrong with her. Because it wasn’t kidney stones, and while it _could be_ a ruptured cyst, Felicity was hesitant to believe that…

She needed to call her mother. It’d been at least two months, and Donna Smoak had no clue what was currently happening in her life. Felicity closed her eyes. It wasn’t a conversation she was looking forward to.

There was a quiet knock on the door and it opened quickly. “Felicity?”

“Dr. Schwartz,” Felicity smiled. She’d seen the gynecologist less than six months ago for her annual check-up, but she had always liked the older woman. “It’s good to see you.”

The brunette doctor pulled the rolling stool over. “This is a surprise. What’s going on?”

Felicity sighed. “I’ve been having some issues for a few months with my period. It went haywire about three months back, I think? They started getting incredibly heavy and very long.”

“How heavy and how long?” Dr. Schwartz interrupted. “I need specifics.”

“Before my period would last about five days, and the first two were always heavy. I would wear a super-heavy tampon and a pantyliner to cover myself. After those two days I would spend two days in regular tampons, and then my last day was typically a light tampon. I might have had some trace blood left over, but I only used a pantyliner to keep myself clean after that.

“But then three months ago I had five days of heavy bleeding. The first day I bled through my super-heavy tampon in two hours and had to go home to change, plus buy actual pads for extra coverage. I used regular tampons for the next six days. Finally on day twelve it tapered off enough that I could switch to a light tampon and pantyliner. I thought it was a one time thing, but my period started again ten days later and it was the same thing. It ran twelve or thirteen days again, stopped, and then picked back up again in ten days.”

“So this is your fifth cycle in three months?” the doctor questioned. “Is that correct?”

Felicity nodded. “I’m in the ten days in-between right now. But I’ve been in an incredible amount of pain since the last menstrual bleeding stopped.”

“Hmmm,” Dr. Schwartz made a note. “Tell me about the pain.”

“It began in my back.” Felicity pressed a hand to her lower back to show her where. “But lately it is much worse in my lower left abdomen.” She gestured in the general area. “I’ve been to Starling General twice in the last week. First they told me I had kidney stones, and then a ruptured ovarian cyst.”

“You don’t have a kidney stone.”

“I know,” the blonde told her. “They told me at the hospital two days ago.”

“If you have a kidney stone you would have blood in your urine. We ran a urinalysis, and there’s no blood in your urine.” Dr. Schwartz swept her eyes over Felicity. “I can’t comment on whether you had a cyst rupture or not, as if it did then it would have passed in a day or two. But let me ask, have you noticed any brown or other slightly colored discharge in the last several days? It would be more discharge than normal, and would likely have an odor to it?”

“No.”

“Then you probably didn’t have a cyst rupture.” Dr. Schwartz gestured for her to lay back. “I’m going to do a pelvic exam. Let me get Kelly in here, okay?”

Felicity nodded. She watched as the doctor stepped out and laid back on the table, her bottom touching the edge. She fit her feet into the stirrups and let her legs fall open. She could already feel a twinge on the left side. Felicity exhaled slowly. This was not going to be fun.

When the two women re-entered, Felicity tried to relax her body. Dr. Schwartz retook the stool at the end of the bed and Kelly went to the cabinet to stand, her eyes straight ahead. Felicity stared straight up, smiling at the ceiling tile that displayed a warm beach. What she’d give to be there right now. “You’re going to feel a little pressure.”

Felicity tried not to tense her body when she felt the fingers at the entrance of her vagina. Even with the lubricant it was uncomfortable. Dr. Schwartz probing fingers pressed inside of her and Felicity felt tears spring to her eyes. “Ow!” The doctor murmured an apology, but continued to press. When she hit one spot, Felicity couldn’t stand the pain and jerked out of the stirrups and away. There were tears sliding down her cheeks, but Felicity didn’t care. “Please stop.”

“Shhh.” Dr. Schwartz eased her fingers out of her. “I want you to get redressed and we’ll talk.”  She glanced at the nurse. “Give her a shot of Toradol to help ease the cramps.” To Felicity she said, “It’s the most powerful NSAID we have in the office. It’s not a narcotic and won’t impede your driving ability, or cognitive function, but it will help loosen some of your muscles.”

“Okay.” The doctor left, and Felicity slowly climbed off of the bed. Everything hurt. Pain was radiating from the one spot in her abdomen, and unlike before, it didn’t seem to be easing off at all. She removed the hospital gown on autopilot and reached for the dress she’d worn for the visit. She’d planned to go directly to Queen Consolidated from here, but that wasn’t likely. She needed a hot shower and heating pad.

She’d tentatively scheduled her follow-up with Walter and Isabel for that afternoon, but maybe it could be moved to the next day, or even Friday. Felicity wasn’t certain she would be able to do anything after this appointment except go home and crawl into bed.

There was another soft knock and Felicity called for that person to come inside. She was unsurprised to see Kelly holding a needle. The young nurse gestured for her to turn around and Felicity pulled her dress up, while Kelly pulled the top part of her underwear down. She didn’t feel the pinch of the needle or the medicine as it went in. “You should start to feel that in twenty minutes or so.” The blonde nodded in acknowledgement.

Now it was back to waiting for Dr. Schwartz.

When she re-entered, the doctor was holding a laptop and several pamphlets. She smiled warmly at Felicity. “How are you feeling?”

The blonde shrugged. “I’ve definitely felt better.”

“I imagine.” Dr. Schwartz hit a few keystrokes and the printer in the room came alive. “So I think you have endometriosis.”

“Endo—huh?”

The other woman held out a pamphlet. “Endometriosis. It’s a medical condition. The simple explanation is that your uterine lining is now growing outside of the uterus. So every month as your body prepares to go through your menstrual cycle, that tissue is going through that same cycle, no matter where it’s located in your body.”

“Wait,” Felicity stopped her, “What do you mean, no matter where it’s located?”

The doctor sighed. “That’s the thing, Felicity. It could be  anywhere. Since your pain seems to be central to your abdominal and pelvic areas, I think we’re looking at a standard case of endometriosis. But I’ve read studies where endometrial tissue has been found in the lungs or brain, and caused serious problems.

“But that’s not a conclusion we’re going to jump to yet. You don’t have those symptoms. First, we need to get a conclusive diagnosis.”

“Okay,” Felicity agreed. She was trying hard to not think about tissue from her uterus in her lungs or brain. That wasn’t an image she’d get out of her head anytime soon, no pun intended. “How do we do that?”

“Surgery,” Dr. Schwartz answered. “Lucky for you one of the caesareans I had scheduled for Friday went into labor last night. I’m putting you in that spot on my surgery schedule.”

“Oh.” Felicity frowned. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m processing all of this right now. I’m having surgery on Friday?”

“Yes,” the dark-haired doctor confirmed. “It’s typically a laparoscopic, outpatient procedure at the surgery center. But given your reaction just now and how inflamed your left ovary felt, I would prefer to do the surgery in-patient at the Women’s Hospital. You will check-in tomorrow night before 9 o’clock and we’ll do your pre-surgery labs then. If everything goes well, then I will do the surgery laparoscopically, and you’ll be discharged Friday afternoon. However, I feel there is a strong possibility I will have to do a left oophorectomy.”

“What’s that?” Felicity asked. “The left oogly-googly?”

“Oophorectomy,” Dr. Schwartz corrected. “It’s a fancy word indicating that I might have to remove your left ovary.”

Oh.

Suddenly Felicity’s eyes were burning for an entirely different reason. Her ovary? Did that mean…? She was supposed to have time… Felicity exhaled. “Okay. So what does that mean in terms of future pregnancy?”

“I didn’t know you were thinking about—”

“No, I’m not,” Felicity assured her. “At least not right _now._  But I always assumed it would be an option _some day_ but this sounds like…” Her voice trailed off, and the blonde shook her head. “It’s still a possibility, right?”

“Absolutely,” Dr. Schwartz assured her. “In fact, one of the things that fixes endometriosis is pregnancy. And even without your left ovary you should have no difficulty getting pregnant. Your reproductive system will adjust to only the one ovary and when you are ready for a baby, then having one ovary shouldn’t be a challenge.”

“Hmmm.” For whatever reason Felicity’s brain flashed to Oliver in that moment. Would he have a baby with her, if she asked… Wait, what?

“Are you okay?” the doctor asked. “I know I’ve dumped a lot of information on you today.”

Felicity nodded. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She exhaled slowly. “It’s a lot, but what do you do?”

“Take it one step at a time.” Dr. Schwartz closed her laptop. “I know you Felicity. I know you’re going to go home and do a web search. Please, stay off of WebMD. If you’re going to get online then go on the forums.”

“Okay,” the younger woman agreed. “Are there any you would recommend?”

“Sure. [HysterSisters](http://www.hystersisters.com/) is great. You’ll find [endometriosis-dot-org](http://endometriosis.org/) to be helpful as well. Stick with those two.” Dr. Schwartz reached forward and grasped her hand. “I know this seems scary, but it’s more normal than you realize. You probably know a woman who has endometriosis, and they’ve just never talked about it.”

“Okay.” Felicity shifted on the table. “Are we done?”

“Yes.” Dr. Schwartz stood and motioned towards the door. “I’m going to walk you down to Ruby’s office, who will take your pre-surgery information today and walk you through any other paperwork. I won’t see you again until Friday morning, but I want you to try to _relax_ between now and then. Absolutely no work, do you understand?”

“I have a handful of things I need to take care of before I can start my leave of absence,” Felicity responded. “But I’m not planning to go in today or work a full day tomorrow.” She could tell from the look on the doctor’s face that she didn’t like it. “It’s the best I can do.”

“I understand.” The older woman gave her a smile. “Felicity, you need to take care of yourself.”

The blonde nodded in understanding. Once they reached their destination, Dr. Schwartz took a moment to introduce them. When she left Felicity took a seat in front of the third woman and smiled. She could feel her anxiety rising, but Felicity tried to push that feeling down until was alone.

An hour later, she was leaving Dr. Schwartz’ office and back in her car. She sat there, trying to figure out what she was going to say to Oliver when she texted him about the visit to the doctor.

Her first priority, however, was emailing Walter and Isabel to let them know she wouldn’t be returning to Queen Consolidated that day. She requested if they could meet at 10 o’clock the next morning, and if not, when would they be free. Felicity also informed them both that tomorrow was the last day she would be available due to her medical situation, and apologized for the short notice. She felt guilty, but surgery was the last thing she was expecting from Dr. Schwartz.

Once that email was sent, she pulled up Oliver’s contact information and considered her words carefully. Felicity didn’t want to alarm him, but she did want him to let him know what happened. Ultimately she decided to send one text to Oliver, John, and Lyla and then a separate text to Oliver inviting him over for dinner that night.

 **Felicity, 11:36:** _FYI- Saw Dr. Schwartz, thinks it’s endometriosis. Having IN-PATIENT surgery @ Women’s Hospital on Fri. a.m. Have to check-in tomorrow night before 9p. Need ride._

Felicity hit the home button on her phone and opened the browser. She typed ‘endo’ into her search, and immediately had results for endometriosis.org, as well as Google recommendations for endo, endometriosis, endocrine system, and endoscopy. She took a deep breath and clicked on the third option.

She scrolled down the screen, pausing when she saw an image of a woman holding her head with one hand and stomach with another. There were lines pointed to her reproductive system. The caption _Abnormal tissue grows outside uterine lining_ accompanied the illustration. One of the quick facts listed indicated it was a chronic condition that _could be lifelong._

Felicity hit the home button again. She had two text messages waiting for her.

 **Lyla, 11:36:** _My cousin had endo… can’t believe I didn't think of that! You know John or I will get you to hospital, if O doesn’t volunteer._

 **Oliver, 11:36:** _What’s endometriosis? And tell John/Lyla I’m taking you to hospital tomorrow._

 **Felicity, 11:39:** _hey Lyla, Oliver said he’d take me. And can I get your cousins number, bc I have no idea what to think right now. Going home after i stop by the store… maybe stop by this afternoon if you have a few minutes?_

 **Felicity, 11:39:** _Endometriosis means that the inside of my uterus is growing outside of my uterus. I think. Need to do research. Going to store, then home for nap. Will you bring me Chinese tonight?_

 **Oliver, 11:39:** _That sounds… sorry I asked. No QC this afternoon? Dim sum?_

 **Lyla, 11:40:** _I can_ _drop by around 4? Will tell Johnny to call you. Feel better!_

 **Oliver, 11:40:** _Do you want crab rangoon too?_

 **Felicity, 11:41:** _QC tomorrow morning. Whatever is fine. You know what I like. Getting ice cream & wine now. See you. _

**Oliver, 11:42:** _I didn’t ask, but are you ok?_

Felicity stared at the last message, unsure how to answer. Was she okay? No, not really… She was definitely overwhelmed and in pain. Felicity didn’t know what to do with the information Dr. Schwartz had given her earlier and what it meant for her future.

It suddenly felt like everything was crashing together and decisions she thought she had years to make were pressing in on her now. She’d always planned to establish herself in her career before she ever worried about her personal life… but what if she’d missed her chance already?

She exhaled loudly and swiped at the tears suddenly leaking out of her eyes. Now wasn’t the time for a break down. Now was the time to buy a carton of mint chip, a bottle of good red, and arm herself with some knowledge regarding endometriosis.

 **Felicity, 11:45:** _I will be. Thx for asking_.

 **Oliver, 11:45:** _I can come over now?_

 **Felicity, 11:45:** _No, I’m a mess._

 **Oliver, 11:46:** _I don’t care about that, Felicity._

 **Felicity, 11:46:** _I’ll see you later Oliver._

She reached up and wiped at her eyes. Felicity started her car and carefully pulled out of the parking space, going in the direction of the local grocery store. True to her mission she bought some ice cream and wine. She drove home on autopilot, her mind occupied with the information Dr. Schwartz revealed to her. As she climbed the stairs to her floor, Felicity reviewed her plan in her head—a shower, pajamas, the heating pad, ice cream, wine, and Internet research. Lyla would be there at four, so there was plenty of time for all of that.

But as she turned the corner all of those plans faded away, because Oliver was leaning against her front door. Even though she told him not to come, even though she was an absolute mess, Felicity was still thrilled to see him. Her tears started anew before she reached him. Once she did, she carefully sat her bag down and buried her face in his suit covered chest. When his arms wrapped around her, Felicity finally felt like she could breathe again.

* * *

 

Endometriosis is thought to affect about 11% of American women ages 15-44 (approx. 200,000 yearly). It's one of the most common causes of pelvic pain and infertility in women. At present there is no "cure" for endometriosis, even though pregnancy is known to one of the ways to greatly improve the symptoms. Most gynecologists provide painkillers, hormone treatments, contraceptives, and even extreme surgery as treatment. Depending on your treatment and response to that treatment, the endometriosis can impact your life very little or on a regular basis. What was once a relatively unknown, unspoken about condition is now becoming something that others are aware of thanks to female celebrities such as Lena Dunham, Padma Lakshmi, etc. who have spoken up about their struggles. I was first diagnosed when I was 27, which was 8 years ago. As I've stated before, many of Felicity's struggles in this fic are based on my personal experiences. 


	7. Sort-of, But Totally Undefined

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of Wednesday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm totally blown away by the response from last chapter. I think I've responded to (most of) the comments - I need to go and reply to the last few that were made late. 
> 
> I needed to take a week away from the fic. And this chapter is much... lighter than the others. Next chapter is also quite heavy, so I thought we could all use a bit of a break. 
> 
> To all of you out there who took the time to share about your personal experiences with endometriosis, I cannot say thank you enough. It meant so much. <3

* * *

As a child, Felicity had always wanted a pet. She’d never had a preference for a cat or a dog, but Donna Smoak had denied her both because they always lived in apartments with pet policies. Instead, there’d been an endless line of prize goldfish or gecko’s she’d caught at the park. This was what she was thinking about as she showered. She’d left Oliver in the living room, working, after she’d pulled herself somewhat together. Felicity appreciated that he hadn’t pushed her about the breakdown she’d had in the hallway yet.

She was thinking about her childhood desire for a pet because Felicity was seriously considering getting a dog or a cat after she recovered from her surgery. More than anything she was thinking about her reaction at the doctor’s office and her thoughts about being a mother. She’d never really thought about a baby before, and wasn’t even sure if she could take care of a child. So maybe she should start with a pet. An easy pet… like a cat. Hadn’t she heard that cats practically looked after themselves?

Felicity climbed out of the shower and quickly dressed in her pajamas, complete with fuzzy socks. She towel dried her hair and twisted it into a bun on top of her head. She grabbed her iPad from the night stand and went back out to the living room. Oliver was where she left him, on her couch with the phone pressed to his ear. The blonde made a detour to the kitchen and grabbed two bottles of water.

Felicity didn’t want to bother him, so she quietly took the seat next to him and opened Chrome on her tablet. She tried to ignore his side of the conversation and typed ‘endometriosis’ into the browser. Felicity clicked on the MedlinePlus website and started reading. The information on the website wasn’t much different from the pamphlet Dr. Schwartz had given her.

In the search bar on the site, she typed oophorectomy. She clicked on the first link which took her to the Mayo Clinic, and she read that page carefully. The word that stood out was _hysterectomy._  Was that in her immediate future? She was 25—

“Hey.” Oliver pulled the iPad from her hand. “What’re you reading?” He glanced down at the screen before quickly closing the cover. “No more of that.” Oliver silenced his phone and closed the cover of his laptop. “I need you to talk to me.”

“I think I might get a cat,” she told him. “What do you think?”

“Okay?” he answered. “That seems like it’s from left field.”

Felicity shook her head. “Not really,” she disagreed. “I always wanted a pet when I was a little girl, but Mom always said no. It was complicated. She worked 60 hours a week, I was usually at the babysitter's, and we always lived in apartments, so the pet thing never worked out.” Felicity shrugged. “It was probably for the best.”

“Where’s this coming from?” Oliver asked.

“One of the… possibilities with endometriosis is a hysterectomy. Dr. Schwartz is already planning to take my left ovary. So that reduces my egg count by half? And I’ve been menustrating for thirteen years now? That’s another 150 or so eggs that were wasted, and it’s not like it is with a man where I have a continuous supply. When I run out, I run out. It’s no secret that I’ve made my career a priority over my personal life, and suddenly I’m faced with the consequences of that.” She sighed deeply. “The very real, very harsh consequences. It’s not fair. I’m supposed to have time.”

“You don’t know that you don’t have time,” he answered. Oliver wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his chest. “You’re having one surgery, Felicity. There’s no need to panic yet.”

She pushed against his side. “Please don’t patronize me, Oliver.”

“I’m not,” he argued. “I just don’t understand why you’re immediately jumping to the worst assumptions.”

Felicity reached up and wiped at her eyes. “I’m just trying to tell you how I feel.” She looked up at him. “I’m scared. Honestly, I never even knew that I might want to be a mother until suddenly it might not be a possibility anymore.”

“So how does a cat figure into all of this?” Oliver questioned. “There’s a big difference between a baby and a cat.”

“I know.” She smiled. “The cat is practice, while I find someone to have a baby with.”

Oliver shifted uncomfortably. “You wouldn’t just go with a donor? Someone anonymous, I mean.”

“I don’t know.” Felicity looked at him again. “It’d be nice to have a partner, maybe. But they’re not exactly lining up at my door, you know.”

“Hmmm.” He considered something else, but decided against it. “I don’t think you should make these plans just yet.”

“Can I tell you something?” she asked.

“Always,” he answered.

“I’m scared. Maybe the idea of a cat is appealing to me because I can’t really screw that up. I mean, what’s there to do? You give it food, water? Maybe some milk. Change the litter every few days. Take it to the vet. Maybe I’m crazy thinking I want a kid.” She shook her head. “It’s not like I had a much of an example growing up. My mom was too busy taking care of me to actually spend any time of me. Not that I’m trying to undermine anything she did for me at all, because I know she worked hard to keep us clothed and fed. But sometimes it would’ve been nice if I had someone to talk to too.”

“Have you tried calling her now?” Oliver asked. “Letting her know what’s happening with you?”

Felicity shook her head. “No. I mean, I thought about it, but… I mean, she had me when she was 20, so clearly she didn’t have endometriosis. What’s she going to know about it? It’s just one more thing we don’t have in common.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t ask, Felicity.” He frowned in thought. “I know I don’t know all the details of your relationship, but she’s your mother. You shouldn’t keep something like this from her. She’d want to be here.”

“I’ll think about it,” she conceded. “You never told me, what do you think about me getting a cat?”

Oliver shrugged. “Be sure you’re getting the cat for the right reason. And that you have the time for it. Dad surprised Thea with a puppy when she was fourteen and Raisa ended up taking care of him after the first month, despite the fact that Thea wanted that puppy more than anything and begged for him. Dad just wanted to make her happy, and didn’t consider that Thea didn’t know anything about taking care of a puppy.”

“Poor Raisa,” the blonde commented. “What kind of dog was it?”

“Some kind of Spaniel, I think. I was finishing up my last year of my MBA, so I wasn’t home a lot. Internships and all.”

“Does your family still have him?” Felicity asked. Thea was away at college now, and Oliver lived in his own loft, but both Robert and Moira Queen still lived in the Manor outside Starling City. “Does Raisa still work for your family?”

“No, to the dog. I think he lives with Raisa’s sisters’ family now. But yes, Raisa still works for my parents. They’d be lost without her.” He smiled fondly. “She comes over once a week and cleans the loft for me. I’m sure my mother arranged for it to happen, but I always know when Raisa has been there. She restocks the fridge and takes care of my dry cleaning and other laundry. She’s always been like a second mother to me.”

“That’s nice.” Felicity laid her head against his shoulder. “I didn’t have anyone like that growing up. My babysitter was usually just a neighborhood woman, and after I was 10 or 11, Mom decided I was old enough to stay by myself.”

“In Vegas?” he asked incredulously. “That seems… not safe.”

“I was a smart kid and I knew how to hide if I needed to. Besides, no one would want to steal any of our stuff. Mom took me to work with her a few times, but when it became clear that I was picking up counting cards and other not so great habits she opted to leave me at home. Once she started getting work at Caesar’s and the Bellagio she couldn’t take me. The tips were so good she couldn’t risk losing the job.” She picked at a cuticle. “Did you have any other pets?”

“No. Tommy’s dad had hunting dogs, but they weren’t great for horsing around in the yard. Plus, we spent most of our time at my house after his mom died.” He planned to say something else, but his phone vibrated. He reached for it. “Just a sec.”

Felicity watched him read the text, and saw his face twist with frustration. “If you need to go back to work you can. You don’t have to babysit me.”

“It’s fine. I’ve already arranged with my dad to be off through a week from Monday. I have some paperwork to turn in tomorrow, and I might have to attend a few meetings, but I won’t have to go in every day.” Oliver quickly tapped out a response on his phone and then sat it down. “Besides, that message was from my mom.”

“Oh.” She turned so she was facing him on the couch. “You don’t have to take the time off to hang out with me, Oliver. I can take care of myself.”

He reached for her hand and laced their fingers. “I know you _can_ ,” he agreed. “It’s just that I _want_ to be here with you. You’re having major surgery and it’s important _to me_ that I be here.”

“Are you sure?” she asked. Felicity glanced at his laptop and phone. “I know the company is important to y—”

“Hey,” he cut her off. “We’ve been over this already. You’re _everything._  QC will still be there a week from Monday, but right now my priority is taking care of you.” Oliver squeezed her hand. “The question is, are you going to let me?”

In response, Felicity leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. The kiss remained chaste, but filled with love on both sides. “Thank you.”

“There is no need to thank me,” he assured her. “I know you would do it for me if the situation was reversed.” He kissed her again, this time lingering a little longer. Still, it was just a press of two pairs of lips together. “I will be here for as long as you need me. However you need me to be. I’m going to drive you to the hospital, I’m going to stick around during your surgery, and while they keep you there for recovery, and then I’m going to bring you back here. And then I’m going to stay here and help out as much as I can, for as long as you’ll let me. Because you’re everything.”

She closed her eyes and let his words wash over her. Felicity had no idea what she’d done to deserve this man in her life. She’d never been a particularly religious person. She didn’t give large amounts to charity or feed the homeless. Mostly she was just an IT girl who had a hacking hobby. But somehow, one day in the past Oliver Queen had stumbled his way into her cubicle and she’d word vomited all over him. And yet here they were.

“Well, you should probably head back to your place and get a couple of changes of clothes then. And I believe I was promised Chinese food, too.” Felicity reached for her iPad again. “I’ll go ahead and order from Mr. Wong’s and you can pick it up on your way back. Don’t let them forget the duck sauce this time.”

Oliver reached over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You are priceless, Felicity.”

\---

The next morning brought about an unplanned argument between Oliver and Felicity. He’d known about her meeting with Walter and Isabel, and had made tentative plans to attend with her. When he shared those plans with her, Felicity shut him down immediately. Despite the fact that they were in a sort-of, but totally undefined relationship now, there was no way she was going to let Oliver fight any battles for her now.

Especially not with Isabel Rochev.

The same Isabel Rochev who was currently sleeping with Oliver’s father. As much as he wanted to protect her, Felicity knew it was important to not show Isabel any weakness. And given how their last meeting ended, the blonde was certain that Isabel would have her claws out for her today.

Instead, Felicity convinced Oliver that he should meet with his father and the rest of his staff while she was in her meeting and then afterwards they could get lunch. She also needed to make a Target run for some items she wanted-slash-needed for the hospital.

Felicity got off the elevator at the HR floor with a promise to wait for him if she finished first and made her way to Walter’s office. The two of them chatted before Isabel arrived. When she did get there, Felicity got down to the business of reviewing with them what Dr. Schwartz told her the day before.

Felicity had made sure to get copies of the paperwork for Dr. Schwartz’ office regarding the endometriosis, laparoscopic surgery, and oophorectomy. Ruby had sent her an email confirming her surgery the next day and that she needed to check in at the Women’s Hospital on Thursday night, as well as a list of what she might need to bring. Felicity had printed it out for documentation.

As they talked about her work and upcoming month-long absence, Felicity confirmed that she felt like Dr. Palmer, the VP of Applied Sciences, was capable of covering her position in the month that she’d be gone. In giving her agreement, Felicity knew she was essentially signing his promotion paperwork herself. But there was nothing she could do about it. There would always be a next time. This was something she had to do for herself.

Once the meeting ended and Isabel left, Felicity stayed to chat with Walter. “I can’t help but notice that she was very courteous during that meaning. Almost painfully nice.”

“That wasn’t me,” Walter answered. “You can thank Robert for that.”

“The CEO? What does Mr. Queen have to do with anything?” Felicity had met Robert Queen a handful of times, but never really held a conversation with him. She’d always been in Oliver’s presence, and she’d assumed that the older man had just written her off as another woman in his son’s life.

“I shared how unprofessional she was during the last meeting during our weekly racquetball session. But from Robert’s reaction, he’d heard about it already. I’m assuming Oliver told him. Robert assured me he would address the issue with Isabel, and it looks like he did.” Walter smiled at her. “However, if I can offer you a piece of advice. I would watch my back around that one. Robert thinks he can control her, but he can’t.”

Felicity frowned. “Why is he even with her? She’s so, so… eugh.”

The British man laughed. “I’m certain Ms. Rochev has some redeeming qualities. But she’s yet to figure out that Robert will never divorce Moira, and vice versa. What Robert and Moira have work for the two of them. Once Isabel realizes that Robert won’t leave his wife, she’ll leave him and company. Like the others.”

She wanted to ask more, to ask why Walter felt like he could share the company and family gossip with her, but she refrained. When her phone vibrated, Felicity stood. “I should get going. I’ll keep you posted regarding my health. If there’s anything I can do for you, or for QC, please don’t hesitate to ask. I’m certain that Dr. Palmer is more than capable of doing the job that he’s being asked to do, but you know I’m more than willing to help out from home.”

“I know, Ms. Smoak.” He stood and walked her to the door. “But you must learn to relax and let your body heal. Take care of yourself, okay?”

Felicity nodded. “Thank you, Sir.” She stepped out of his office and pulled her phone from her pocket. It was a message from Oliver, indicating he was already waiting in the lobby. It was early still, so maybe they should go to Target first, and then lunch. And maybe a movie afterwards, before she had to get ready for her trip to the hospital?

The blonde started towards the elevator. She smiled to herself. Despite her anxiety about what was to come, it felt like she was walking towards something. Walking towards someone, finally. Something new and exciting, and possibly life changing.  

* * *

 

Confession time, I'm not a cat person. But there is a lot of fic out there where Felicity gets a dog (I think because Emily has Ophie) and I just don't think Felicity has the time for a dog. 

Next up - surgery. And maybe we'll meet someone's Momma, too. 


	8. The First Cut (is the Deepest)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little Oliver POV regarding what's happening with Felicity...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, so thankful for all the comments/kudos/bookmarks from you all. A little overwhelming. This chapter is a little different from the rest. But I think I like it? 
> 
> And - to my friend MISSYRiver, thanks for the great job you did. <3

* * *

In general, Oliver Queen considered himself to be a patient person. It was a trait his mother had instilled in him early on— _g_ _ood things come to those who wait._ But the surgical intern had wheeled Felicity away 32 minutes ago and Oliver already felt like he was crawling out of his skin. Her surgeon, Dr. Schwartz, had dropped by the room that morning and indicated the surgery would take at least an hour and a half, and then she would go to a recovery room before being returned to her hospital room. Depending if they had to open her up or not was going to determine if she had to spend another night in the hospital.

There were certainly things he could be doing. Breakfast, for one. A shower, for another. He’d waited for them to kick him out the previous night, but when they never did he’d slept in the recliner in her room. He’d woken up when they’d came to start a saline drip that morning, as well as hook up a blood pressure machine and who knows what else. At some point in the night someone had tossed a thin cotton blanket over him. Oliver borrowed the toothbrush the hospital provided for Felicity (after making sure she’d brought her own) and took care of his personal needs.

Oliver was nervous about the surgery today. More than he let Felicity know. He’d done his fair share of Googling and come across words like _routine_ and _simple_ which only made him more nervous. He was the first to admit he didn’t know a lot about women’s health, but when Felicity started having problems weeks ago he took it upon himself to educate himself. He’d learned more about endometriosis in two days time than he thought possible.

He’d long ago admitted to himself that Felicity was special.

He was now starting to admit to himself that she was the person he wanted to spend his life with.

Which was requiring all of the patience his mother ever instilled in him. Because Felicity was… Felicity was making him wait. Oliver didn’t think it was intentional. He didn’t know if it was because she didn’t trust him, at least with her heart. He didn’t even know if she was aware she kept him at arm's’ length. Oliver was sure that he'd wait as long as it took. Felicity was worth it.

He couldn’t help but think back to the first time they’d met and what a cad he’d been back then. Oliver was too much of a coward to tell Laurel their relationship was truly over. Whatever they were trying to rekindle since his return to Starling City wasn’t going to work. Instead he’d taken to hooking up with Sara Lance a handful of times, hoping the news would get back to her. And did it ever.

Laurel had tracked him down at Queen Consolidated, and Oliver (hoping to avoid a confrontation) had jumped off the elevator on a random floor and picked an office to hide in. What he hadn’t counted on was the blonde IT girl already occupying that office. She’d been chewing on a pen. It was red.

_“Oh, hello,” a voice said behind him. “Can I help you?” Oliver dropped his head. Of course the person whose office he’d chosen couldn’t be out to lunch like everyone else on this floor._

_He turned and smiled. “Hi,” he glanced down at her nameplate. “Felicity Smoak? I’m Oliver Queen.”_

_“I know who you are, Sir. You’re Mr. Queen.”_

_Oliver shook his head. “No, Mr. Queen is my father. I’m Oliver.”_

_“Okay, Oliver,” she said, testing his name on her tongue, “Can I help you today?”_

_“Not really?” He gestured toward the chair in front of her desk, and dropped in it at her nod. “I just needed a place to hide for a little while.”_

_“And you choose the IT floor?” Felicity questioned. “What exactly are you hiding from?”_

_Honestly, he wasn’t sure. At 25, Oliver knew it was time to man up and tell Laurel the truth. She’d been dropping hints for_ **_years_ ** _about her expectations regarding their relationship. Oliver knew he wasn’t going to marry her. It’s why he’d decided to burn it to the ground by sleeping with Sara._

_“A girl,” he admitted._

_“A girl?” Felicity asked. “Once again, this is the IT department.”_

_“I’m aware, Miss Smoak. Need I remind you whose name it is on this building?” Oliver hated the words even as he said them. “I just need to hang out here for a few minutes.”_

_She rolled her eyes at him. “Whatever you say.” Felicity looked back at her computer. “Just… be quiet. I didn’t skip lunch so some frat boy could distract me from my work.”_

_“Yeah, I noticed all the empty offices.” He glanced at the stack of folders next to her computer. “What’re you working on?”_

_“Updating IT response logs. It’s boring, and technically my supervisor, Dan, is supposed to do it at the end of each week, but he never does, and it inevitably gets dumped on one of the few female techs. Guess it was my turn.” Felicity sighed. “This is certainly not what I went to MIT for.”_

_“MIT,” he repeated. “That’s impressive.”_

_“Yup. I graduated summa cum laude with Masters in Cyber Security and Computer Sciences. At 19.” She blushed and looked away. “Not to toot my own horn or anything.”_

_“At 19? How old are you now?” Oliver questioned. She didn’t look a day over 18, and even then that was pushing it._

_“Twenty.” The blonde shrugged. “I did one of my internships here, the benefits package was excellent, and it put just over 1,000 miles between me and Las Vegas, where I grew up, which was important.”_

_“Do you still have family there?” He realized immediately that she thought it was a personal question, but there was no taking it back. “Sorry, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”_

_“It’s fine. My mom still lives there. She’s…” Felicity trailed off, looking for the right word. “She’s my mom. Starling City was closer than Gotham, which was my other choice. She was just glad to get me back on the West Coast.”_

_“Gotcha.” Oliver stood and walked to the door. He opened it and peaked out, looking for any sign of Laurel. His phone had gone off twice since he’d been there, but he was in no hurry to find out what she’d texted him. “I just wish I knew if she was gone, or not.”_

_“I could probably help you with that, if you want,” Felicity offered._

_He turned back to look at her. “You could?”_

_She shrugged. “Depends. What’s your feeling on me accessing the building security cameras without permission?”_

_“You_ **_hacked_ ** _our security cameras?” Oliver almost laughed. “Why?”_

_“I was bored?” she offered. Her blue eyes sparkled. “I have two questions, though. Do you want me to check them for whoever you’re trying to avoid and are you going to tell?”_

_Oliver rounded the corner of her desk. “I’m trying to avoid Laurel Lance.” He pulled a chair close to her. “And no, I won’t tell. Something tells me this could come in handy.”_

_“Okay, then.” Felicity quickly logged into the Queen Consolidated internal network and accessed their security system. She easily mirrored the guard screen on her computer and then with a couple of clicks, she was able to pull the video history onto her computer. They both sat in silence as she played the video at 2x speed, until he clearly saw Laurel leaving out the front entrance. “There she is,” the blonde pointed at her computer. “Looks like the coast is clear.”_

_“You know who Laurel is?” he questioned._

_She looked at him. “Doesn’t everyone in Starling know the story of Gorgeous Laurel Lance and Oliver Queen? I might not have lived here, but it’s not like I was stranded on an island.”_

_“Right.” That meant that she probably knew all of the terrible things he’d done, too. “You know, I’m trying to not be that guy anymore.”_

_“Okay,” she commented. “But, and I’m just making an observation here, isn’t this totally something_ **_that guy_ ** _would do?”_

_Oliver knew she had him there. “I’m just trying to find out how to tell her that it’s over, and I mean it this time… I’ve been back in town for three months, and we just fell into old habits so easily. And instead of manning up and telling her that I was over it, I did something_ **_really_ ** _stupid instead and when I tell her about the stupid thing I know how much it’s going to hurt her.”_

_“Well, maybe don’t tell her about the stupid thing, then. Just tell her you’re different now and you’re ready to move on?” Felicity suggested. The blonde smiled at him. “It’s worth a shot.”_

_He nodded in agreement. “It is. But I’m afraid that she’s gonna hear ‘move on’ and think that I’m ready for the next step in our relationship, even though I’m really trying to tell her our relationship is over.”_

_“Oliver, sometimes you have to just rip off the band-aid. If you don’t want to be with her, just tell her. Don’t string her along, because it’s only going to hurt more when you finally do tell her. Have some respect for the relationship you used to have, at least.” Felicity glanced at the clock on her computer and sighed. “So my lunch break is over, and I need to get back to work. Plus, I don’t want my coworkers to see you coming out of my office…” She stopped and counted backward in her head. “I mean, I don’t want to give them any ideas, or make them think we’re friends or anything.”_

_“We could be friends, Felicity.” Oliver stood and went back to the front of her desk. “You’re right about Laurel. I’m going to rip off the band-aid.” When she nodded, he smiled at her. “Would you mind if I drop by again some time? It’s been fun talking to you.”_

_“Sure, I guess.” She gestured to the stack of folders next to her computer. “Maybe next time I won’t be so swamped.”_

_“I’m sure you won’t.” He reached for the door, making a mental note to discuss ‘Dan’ with Walter. “Bye, Felicity.”_

_“Bye,” she called._

_On his way to the elevator he called down to the cafe on the first floor and ordered her a turkey sandwich, salad, and iced tea for lunch. There was no reason for her to miss lunch because someone else was slacking on the job. When he received a text from an unknown number forty minutes later, thanking him, Oliver knew it was her. He saved the number and texted her back. It was the beginning of the best relationship in his life._

It had taken him another two weeks to tell Laurel the truth, much to his regret now. Those two weeks had done irreparable damage to their relationship as he’d continued to hook up with Sara behind her back. It continued to be one of Oliver’s biggest regrets to this day.

He arrived back at the hospital and hoped Felicity would be back in her hospital room. It’d taken him just under two hours to grab coffee and breakfast, plus drop by his apartment for a shower and to freshen up. He’d left his overnight bag at the hospital just in case they had to spend another night there.

His feelings for Felicity developed over time. They were friends first. She kept him at a distance—truthfully, she kept most people at a distance. Oliver never saw her first apartment until he was helping her move out of it. When he met John Diggle he was shocked to realize how disappointed he was. Felicity never mentioned a boyfriend, but her easiness around the other man made it clear their relationship was special. But shortly after meeting John, Oliver met Lyla. And that day John counseled him to give Felicity time.

Oliver had given her all the time she needed. She’d broken down three years ago and explained about her ex-boyfriend Cooper and how he’d hung himself in college. It was the first time Oliver ever saw Felicity cry, and he knew he didn’t like it. He’d held her in his arms that night, as she finally let her first love go, and Oliver knew he loved her. It wasn’t something he’d planned on but just admitting it to himself was like a weight lifted.

Telling her was an entirely different story. He’d held it inside so long that the words had tumbled out without conscious thought. But there was no other way to think about it, she was everything to him.

He’d only been back in the room about fifteen minutes when they wheeled Felicity back in. Oliver stood and watched as they slid her bed back against the wall. The nurse looped the call button around the the rail and nodded at him. “I’m going to get her some ice chips and Sprite. Dr. Schwartz should be in shortly.”

Oliver went to stand where he could see her eyes. “Hey.” His hand covered hers. “How do you feel?”

“Hmmm,” she responded. “Groggy.”  

“Are you sore?” he questioned. His eyes lingered over her midsection, wanting to see the surgical site, but not wanting to ask. “You should probably sleep.”

“Yeah,” Felicity agreed. “What will you do?”

“I’ll be here,” he assured her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

She gave him a crooked smile. “I know.” Felicity lifted her hand towards him. “Thank you.”

“No thanks needed.”

Her eyes were already closed. “Hmmm. Love you.”

Oliver felt his heart jump at her slurred words. She didn’t know what she was saying. He squeezed his hand around hers and then let her go. Oliver went around the bed and dug his iPad from his bag. He pulled the recliner closer and took her hand in his left, his fingers running over hers. He could hear her snores and he smiled. This was how he wanted to spend the rest of his days.

When Dr. Schwartz entered 35 minutes later, they were in the same position. Oliver had texted John and Lyla that Felicity had made it through surgery, but wasn’t up for visitors just yet. He’d started a book on his Kindle that his sister recommended. And Felicity was still asleep.

The doctor did a quick check of Felicity’s vitals, and then walked around the bed to stand against the window. “Mr. Queen.”

“Yes?” he replied. “Is something wrong?”

“Felicity has given me permission to discuss the surgery with you. Are you comfortable with that?” She waited, and when Oliver nodded his head, Dr. Schwartz continued, “We began the procedure laparoscopically, and using the camera I was able to determine that what I suspect is endometrial material was growing on the surface of both her left and right ovaries, along her fallopian tubes, and the outside of her uterus. There was also tissue growing on the outer lining of her large intestine. I took samples for the biopsy, and then I began to scrape away as much of the tissue as I could.

“When I observed that the urethra was possibly compromised, I opted to make a surgical cut and open her up on the table. It was a four inch incision, but it allowed me to better see the surgical field and make the necessary call. Felicity’s urethra passed over her left ovary, which was covered with endometrial tissue. I called in a urologist and we opted to remove the ovary in order to preserve the integrity of the urinary tract. We knew it was a strong possibility that I would have to complete a partial oophorectomy, and Felicity was aware going in.”

“So what aren’t you saying?” Oliver asked. He could hear it in her tone. The doctor was definitely holding something back.

She hesitated. “Endometriosis is in stages, Oliver. Stage 1, stage 2, stage 3, stage 4. Some women have a lot of pain, but only a little endometriosis. And then some women have a lot of endometriosis but only a little pain.” Dr. Schwartz sighed. “Felicity has some difficult decisions to make in the future. She and I recently spoke about the possibility of pregnancy and wanting to be a mother, but I’m not certain if that’s going to be in her future.”

“Oh.”

The older woman laid her hand on his arm. “She’s going to need you to support her.”

“Of course,” he agreed. “Always.”

Dr. Schwartz nodded. She looked past him to her patient lying in the bed. “We’ll talk more once she sleeps the anesthesia off. Or maybe tomorrow, when she’s clear-headed.” The doctor sighed. “This is not doctorly advice, but just me looking out for my patient. Be sure that you can handle this, okay? Because she deserves the best.”

Oliver was silent as he watched the doctor leave the room.

* * *

So... no mother's in this chapter, Queen or Smoak. Oliver just took over and demanded to be heard from. I think it worked. As you can see by the end, the medical stuff is definitely back in a not-so-nice way. That's what we'll be dealing with. Next chapter will have John & Lyla (of that I'm sure). 

Thanks for reading, friends! :) 


	9. Of Google and Dumplings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One day post-surgery. Felicity is having to deal with some new truths. Donna comes for a visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Friends, I meant to have this up earlier this week, but I got... yeah. 
> 
> Anyway, thanks for being so supportive of the story. I plan to have the next chapter up pretty quickly. (Again, notice the word PLAN.) 
> 
> All the mistakes are mine. ;) I tried to catch them, but there may be some in there still.

* * *

Felicity was a podcast person. Or she was a learning-new-stuff person, and podcasts allowed her to do that. But right now she _could not_ focus on her chosen episode of Radiolab because of her mother (of course). Despite the string of texts and one insistent phone call she’d shared with Donna Smoak last night, her mother _hadn’t_ listened to any reassurances so Oliver was currently on his way to the airport to retrieve the older woman. Felicity was less than thrilled about the change of plans.

She was useless and no help in her hospital bed. Felicity hoped Dr. Schwartz would release her on Saturday afternoon, but it was unlikely. When she’d come out from the fog of anesthesia last night, Oliver had shared with her what Dr. Schwartz had told him regarding her surgery.

And Felicity had questions.

But those had to wait until Dr. Schwartz made her rounds today. In the meantime, Felicity tried to focus on her podcast and wait patiently for Oliver’s return, even if he was bringing her mother with him. He’d also promised to go by her favorite deli and pick up a quart of soup. She wasn’t on a restricted diet, but nothing made you feel like not eating like a four inch incision in your lower abdomen.

The blonde took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. She was worrying over things she had no control over again. Oliver would be back soon. John and Lyla were coming to visit today. She’d be going home tomorrow (hopefully). And, really, it was a blessing that she still had a mother to worry over her when she was sick. Felicity closed her eyes and focused on the words coming from her headphones. There was no point in stressing over things she couldn’t change anyway.

Felicity became aware again when her hospital door opened. She reached for her headphones, but kept her eyes closed. She already knew it wasn’t Oliver. As weird as it was, she couldn’t feel him. She gave herself a few more seconds before smiling up at her gynecologist. “Good morning.”

The doctor reached for the chart on the end of her bed. “Felicity. How are you feeling today?”

“M’kay, I think. Why don’t you tell me?” She busied herself with wrapping her headphone wires together and laid them next to her phone.

Dr. Schwartz stepped forward and folded the blankets down. She lifted Felicity’s hospital gown up and examined the surgical site. “On a scale of one to ten, how’s your pain?” When the blonde shrugged, the doctor asked, “Do they still have you on IV pain meds?”

“I received a dose of fentanyl about an hour ago,” Felicity answered.

“It’s impressive that you’re not passed out then. We need to start weaning you off the IV and on to a pill.  You may not feel as floaty, but if you want to go home tomorrow you can’t be hooked up to an IV.” As she talked she examined Felicity’s incision and stitches. There was no swelling and while it was red, there was no oozing or puss coming out. She was satisfied with the condition and smoothed the tape on her abdomen down. On the chart she made a note that the site needed to be cleaned and recovered the next time a nurse saw to her. “That looks good, by the way. We’ll keep you on antibiotics for five days just as a precaution, but I don’t expect any issues there. And I’m assuming Mr. Queen gave you the basics from yesterday?”

Felicity nodded. “Oliver indicated that it was more widespread than what you thought initially?”

“Yes,” the doctor replied. “There are definitely some areas of concern, Felicity, and—” She was cut off when the hospital door opened and Donna Smoak rushed in. Oliver followed behind her, and gave Dr. Schwartz a warm smile. She glanced at Felicity. “Should I come back later?”

“No, no,” Felicity insisted. “Go ahead and tell us.” She reached for her mother’s hand. “This is my mother, Donna Smoak. And you know Oliver already.” The younger blonde smiled at her. “Besides, I have questions for you.”

Dr. Schwartz laughed. “Of course you do.” She looked around the room, surveying the occupants and nodded. “Go ahead then, let me hear ‘em.”

“Oliver said that it was Stage 3 endometriosis. What does that mean? I know that you never want to hear someone has Stage 4 cancer, so I’m assuming endometriosis is the same. Do you expect for it to continue to grow inside of my body? What’s the treatment plan?” Felicity questioned. “Is there a treatment plan?”

“Of course there is, Felicity. We would normally give your body more time to recover from your surgery, before we discussed treatment options, but there are definitely things we can do to hopefully slow or stop the growth.

“First,” Dr. Schwartz continued, “is we can look at the type of birth control you’ve been using and try a different type. That’s the mildest thing we can do, as I’m not certain it would have much impact since you were previously on birth control and the endometrial tissue was growing unchecked inside of you.

“There are also hormone treatments like Lupron or Danazol. Lupron is an injection meant to trick your body into thinking it is in menopause by shutting down your reproductive system. You will likely experience hot flashes, night sweats, being overly tired, possible migraine headaches, joint aches, acne—”

“This is supposed to _help_ her?” Oliver interrupted. “I’m not saying the side effects are as bad as the endometriosis, but they sound pretty horrible.” He glanced at Felicity, his eyes wide and serious. “What do you think?”

She shook her head. “What about the other one? The Dana-one?”

“Danazol is an oral steroid you would start during your next menstrual cycle. The purpose is to decrease the amount of hormones produced by your ovaries. Or, in your case, remaining ovary. The side effects include weight gain, sweat, acne, abnormal body hair, possible changes in your voice—”

“No,” Felicity cut her off. She looked at her mother, and then Oliver, before focusing back on Dr. Schwartz. “I’m sorry. I try not to be a vain person, but I’m saying no to the one that’s going to cause abnormal body hair and acne.”

Dr. Schwartz laughed. “That’s fine, Felicity. That’s an older treatment anyway, but I thought I’d put it out there.

“Those are the three non-surgical interventions. And, then of course, there is surgery.”

“How extensive?” Donna Smoak inquired. She wrapped her hand around her daughter’s and squeezed. “I understand that you took her left ovary yesterday, but are you talking the whole shebang or what?”

“Very likely, yes. But there are options. And we can do it in stages.” The brunette doctor shook her head. “I’m sorry that there is not a better alternative. For minimal to mild endometriosis we treat with medication and moderate to severe we treat with surgery.” She looked at Felicity and gave her a tight smile. “That’s not just me. That’s the standard of care with most gynecologists regarding this illness.”

Felicity nodded. “Walk me through the surgery options, then.” The young woman look beyond the doctor to where Oliver was standing. She needed him right then. By her side, holding her hand. Her mom was great, but Donna Smoak wasn’t the partner she’d chosen to share this burden with.

“The removal of your left ovary is considered to be conservative, and as I previously mentioned it will reduce the amount of hormonal output you have, which will help. From here we could monitor your pain and treat with an oral contraceptive or Lupron, until you’re ready for the next step, whatever that may be. While I was in there I cleaned out as much visible tissue and drained the cysts I could see, which should give you some relief for now,” the doctor explained. “But ultimately I don’t think it’s going to be a long-term, permanent solution.”

“You think I’ll have to have a hysterectomy?” Felicity pressed. Again, she looked at Oliver, asking him with her eyes to come join her. “How long do you think we can put that off?”

Dr. Schwartz sighed. “I don’t know, Felicity.” She paused when Oliver took the place on the bed to Felicity’s left. “Are the two of you wanting to have children?”

“I want to have children,” Felicity blurted out. “But Oliver and I aren’t together. No kids for us.” She knew her face was red as a tomato and there was no way she could look at him. “Just me!”

“Oh,” the doctor answered. She glanced at Felicity’s mother, unsure what to say next. Since Thursday night both Felicity and Oliver had given off every impression that they were a couple. Dr. Schwartz glanced down at her watch. “I think I’ve given you a lot to think about today. So here’s what we’ll do for now... I’ll schedule you a follow-up appointment for this upcoming Thursday or Friday at my office, and we’ll talk then about whatever decision you’ve made, okay?”

“Okay,” Felicity agreed. Before the doctor could leave, she stopped her. “What do you think I should do?”

“The Lupron.” There was no hesitation. “The chance of it working outweighs the chance of it not.” Dr. Schwartz smiled at her patient. “I know you Felicity, and I know you want to do your own research, so go ahead and do that. I’ll see you tomorrow before you’re released. But you need to be resting until then.”

The three occupants watched in silence as Dr. Schwartz left, and then all three looked at each other. “Hi, Mom.”

“Oh, Dumpling!” Donna sighed. The older blonde wrapped her daughter in a hug. “I wish you would’ve told me sooner and I would’ve been here for your surgery.”

“That wasn’t necessary, Mom.” Felicity gestured to the other person in the room. “Oliver was here the entire time.”

“Yes,” her mother said, “I heard. I was surprised to find out that the ‘Oliver’ picking me up at the airport was your boss Oliver Queen.”

“I’m not her boss,” the man in question answered. When two sets of blue eyes turned to him, he smiled. “My family owns the company, but Felicity works as the Director of IT and works for the VP of Technology. I am the VP of Marketing, which is an entirely different department…” he trailed off. “Also, my father is the CEO.” He flashed them both a smile. “Which doesn’t seem to matter so much right at this moment.”

“Oliver, did you remember to bring my soup?” Felicity asked. It was clear he’d forgotten, as he had nothing in his hands and she hadn’t seen him sit it down.  

“Sorry, I forgot.” He stood and reached into his pocket for his keys. “The Matzo ball, right?”  

“Yes.” She glanced at her mother. “And a black and white from Jitters, please? You know what I like.”

He didn’t want to go, but given the look Felicity was giving him Oliver knew he didn’t have a choice. “Are you sure coffee is a good idea right now?” His eyes lingered on her IV. “Maybe we should ask your nurse first…”

“I’m sure it’s fine,” Felicity assured him. “They brought me what the cafeteria considers _coffee_ for breakfast this morning.” Her expression let him know how she felt about it.

“What if I bring decaf?” he bargained.

“Gross.” But she knew she wasn’t going to win this argument. “At least half-caf, please?”

Oliver shook his head. “Fine.” He looked at her mother. “Ms. Smoak would you like anything?”

“I told you to call me Donna, hon. But I’d love something with vanilla syrup and an extra shot of espresso, if you don’t mind.”

“Decaf for her,” Felicity murmured. She reached forward and squeezed his hand. “Thanks.”

Oliver leaned over and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Of course. I’ll be back soon.”

Once he was gone, Donna Smoak whipped around and smiled at her daughter. “You’re dating Oliver Queen!” she shrieked. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because we’re not dating,” Felicity replied immediately. “Oliver and I are just great friends.”

“Oh, Dumpling,” Donna sighed, “You’re not _just_ anything with that man who left out of here. He is head over teacup for you.”

Felicity started to shake her head, but her mother continued. “You’ve never been very good at seeing yourself clearly. When Dr. Schwartz brought up having babies, I was watching him. He wants to have babies with you, honey. Lots of babies.”

“Mom,” she whined. “Why would you say that.” Felicity already felt on edge regarding her feelings about babies, but to put Oliver’s potential expectations in there too was too much. She felt tears begin to leak from her eyes. “Don’t say that.”

“Say what?” Donna inquired.

“That he wants babies,” she sobbed. Felicity wrapped her arms around herself. She wasn’t even sure why she was crying. “I want babies.”

Her mother crawled into the bed beside her and quietly soothed her fears. Donna muttered nonsensical things into her ear while Felicity cried. After ten minutes, Felicity felt drained of all energy and her tears had quieted to slow tracks down her cheeks. “I want babies,” she confessed quietly. “I don’t think I’ve said it outloud before, but I want babies.”

“Okay,” her mother answered. “Then you should have them.”

Felicity shook her head. “Do you know how hard it’s going to be with the endo? Especially with how severe it is? Dr. Schwartz told Oliver that it’s already invading my large intestine and it’s covering my other reproductive organs.” She sighed quietly. “What she didn’t say today is that a complete hysterectomy is just a matter of time, more of a when not if.”

“Oh.” Donna looked at her daughter. “I’m sorry, Dumpling.”

“It sucks.” Felicity sniffed. “I didn’t even realize I might want to be a mother until suddenly it might not happen.” She laid her head on Donna’s shoulder. “But I want it more than anything now. More than I wanted to go to MIT, more than I wanted Dad to come back when I was a kid, more than I want to be VP of Technology at QC.”

“There are other ways,” her mother told her. “Foster children. Adoption. Surrogates. There’s no need to give up hope yet.”

Felicity shook her head. “Yes, all of those are great, Mom. But not for the Queen family. They expect—” She cut herself off and considered what she’d said. “I mean—”

Donna’s smile grew wide. “So it seems that Oliver isn’t the only one who has flipped his teacup.”

“What? No, no, no.” The younger woman shook her head. “That’s not, no, I just…” She trailed off, at a loss for words. Felicity hadn’t meant to say that. She hadn’t. She _hadn’t_.

For the second time that morning, the hospital door opened for visitors. There’s no way Oliver was back so quickly, so Felicity tried not to be disappointed when it was only John and Lyla. Her two new guests wore bright smiles and he carried a large vase full of bright wildflowers. John crossed the room and sat them on the table next to her bed. Donna moved and John leaned over to hug her gingerly. 

“Hey, how are you feeling?” he asked.

“Good,” she answered. “Sore, tired.” Felicity looked over to Lyla. “Let me introduce you to my mother, Donna Smoak.” Donna had placed herself on her left, where Oliver had been earlier. “Mom, these are my good friends John Diggle and Lyla Michaels.”

Donna shared a warm smile. “I remember Mr. Diggle from when you first moved here, Dumpling. But I don’t believe I’ve ever met Ms. Michaels.”

Felicity colored. “Please don’t call me Dumpling in front of other people.”

Her mother laughed. “Oh, sorry. Sometimes I forget.”

John eyed the two women. “There’s a story there. Who’s going to tell it?” Felicity shook her head at him, so he turned his attention to the older Smoak. “Ms. Smoak, I know you want to share.”

“I do,” she agreed. “But I don’t want Felicity to stop speaking to me.”

“Ha.” John walked over to the recliner Oliver had slept in for the last two nights and sat down. He pulled Lyla down into his lap. “I don’t think Felicity has it in her to hold a grudge. Especially not against her mother.” He ran his hand over Lyla’s swollen belly. “Since the two of us are expecting we love to hear how other people got their names and nicknames.”

Donna cooed. She looked down at Felicity, and her daughter knew it was a lost cause. With a nod, Donna began. “When Felicity was 9, I worked from mid-morning to dark at one of the old casinos off the strip. When she got out of school she’d go sit with our neighbors until I could get her. They were Chinese and most nights they would feed her dinner and work on math with her, not that Felicity really needed the help. Well, when I changed jobs and started being home for dinner and Felicity would stay overnight with them instead she refused to eat anything but dumplings for two months in protest. At first I thought she was angry at me and my cooking, because that’s never been my strongest area—or hers either, to be honest—but I knew enough that I could feed my kid. But night after night she would refuse to eat, and ultimately I’d have to go next door and ask Mrs. Tseng if she could spare some dumplings for Felicity. Finally I realized that she wasn’t angry at me, but she missed spending quality time with the Tseng’s on those afternoons when I was at work.”

By the end of the story, the hospital door had opened a third time and Oliver reentered. His hands were full with a coffee tray and a paper bag. He greeted John and Lyla warmly, and handed out the drinks. “Half-caf tuxedo for you,” he said to Felicity. “Decaf vanilla latte for you,” to Donna. He’d gotten himself a plain black coffee.

He apologized to John and Lyla for not having anything for them, and Felicity jokingly offered them her Matzo ball soup. The two men began small talk as Donna and Lyla casually chatted about her pregnancy, whether it was a boy or girl, and life in Starling City as a female detective. If anyone noticed that Felicity was quiet, no one pointed it out.

After he’d handed out the coffees, Oliver had placed himself on the corner of the bed next to her. His right thigh was pressed against hers since she was sitting up. She could feel the heat from his body through his jeans and the paper-thin hospital blanket and gown. Oliver held his coffee in his left hand and he absently traced patterns on her leg with his right. She wasn’t even sure if he knew what he was doing.

Finally, Felicity forced herself to focus on the conversation happening in the room. If she thought too much about the butterflies going off in her stomach, or the thousands of thoughts racing in her head, or how fast her heart was beating… There would be time to think about all of that later. Right now there were people here to see her.

She could think about babies later. She could think about Oliver later. She could think about _babies with Oliver_ later.

“What was that Felicity?” Lyla questioned.

She looked up. There were eight eyes on her, and Oliver’s fingers on her leg had stopped.

Oh Google, she was in so much trouble…  

* * *

Coming up- Moira! (for real this time, too); Felicity makes some important decisions   
  



	10. Crazy In Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home from the hospital, everyone tries to settle into a routine. But things don't always go as planned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait! I sort of, accidentally started writing [a new story](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14726736/chapters/34039875) with the fabulous MISSYriver (my awesome, lovely beta) during my little hiatus from this one. Go check it out if you haven't already. But, good news! I have just slightly more than week of work left until I have vacation until August... and I decided early on that I wasn't doing anything this summer but hanging out with my doggos. So I should be able to manage the two stories, so long as my imagination keeps running wild. 
> 
> Enough with that- on to the story!

* * *

When Oliver had opted to take the entire week off, this wasn’t _exactly_ how he imagined it would play out. Not that he begrudged Felicity time with her mother. But with Donna here, there was no reason for Oliver to hang around. There was no need for the two of them to hover over Felicity and make sure she wasn’t doing anything to risk hurting herself.

Especially since Oliver knew how much she hated anyone hovering over her anyway.

They’d returned from the hospital yesterday afternoon and Oliver should have left then, but he’d waited. He and Felicity hadn’t had a minute alone together and he really wanted to talk to her about… _anything._ How she was coping with what Dr. Schwartz had told her, what she thought about the possible treatments, and what did she mean when she was mumbling about _babies with Oliver_ at the hospital? Instead, the three of them had watched a movie together and then Felicity had gone to bed. His conversation with Donna afterwards was… interesting.

_“How long have you been in love with my daughter?” She was nothing if not blunt. And working in Las Vegas all these years, Donna Smoak always called a spade a spade._

_He’d been expecting this conversation, honestly. “You’re not one to test the waters, are you?”_

_“This is me, testing the waters. Felicity seems to be… conflicted about you. But I want to know how you feel about her.” The older woman did not smile._

_Oliver nodded in understanding. “Felicity is… Felicity is the sun.”_

_“I see.” She touched his forearm. “My little dumpling is like a pistachio nut. You have to be patient with her, pull her out of her shell a little bit at a time. But once you do, what’s inside is so worth it.”_

_“I’m aware, Ms. Sm—”_

_“I told you to call me Donna, Oliver,” she reminded him. “And I think you’re good for Felicity.”_

_“Sorry, Donna.” He considered his next words. Oliver felt like he was betraying Felicity by discussing their fledgling relationship with her mother, but he desperately needed the insight. “And good how?”_

_“Felicity hasn’t let herself need anyone in a long time. When her father left us… she put a wall up. She filled herself up with school work and computers and knowledge, and that was enough. She was never cold, but I think she was lonely. When she went off to MIT, she started to come out of her shell a bit, but unfortunately she attracted Cooper’s attention—you know about Cooper, yes?” When he nodded, she continued, “But after that whole mess, she just retreated again. I wasn’t thrilled when she told me she’d taken a job in Starling City, because it’s 1,000 miles from Vegas. She had offers from the three biggest casinos there to run security, and she turned them all down to come here and essentially be an IT girl. I didn’t understand at the time, but I can see now that she was poking her head up again. And this time, when she attracted attention it was the positive kind. She met people like John Diggle and you. People who seem to genuinely care for her._

_“My point is—and there is one—that Felicity is worth it. All the times you have to patient. All the times she pulls away and makes you come after her. She’s worth every bit of it, Oliver. Because once she realizes she loves you back... “_

_“You think she loves me?” he questioned._

_Donna nodded. “Absolutely.” She smiled up at him. “Without a doubt.”_

_Oliver felt buoyed by her words. He felt a lightness in his chest that hadn’t been there before. The weight he hadn’t known he’d been carrying was gone. “Thank you.”_

_“When my little dumpling loves, it’s forever. So make sure you’re ready.”_

_He nodded in understanding. He was ready._

Now, at seven on Monday morning, after a night spent on a couch that wasn’t quite big enough for him, Oliver was even more sure. But he didn’t want to pressure her before she was ready, so maybe he should give her and Donna some time together before the older woman left on Wednesday. He could always come back then.

That seemed like the best available option. Even though he’d told his father he wouldn’t be working this week, there was no one to really tell him he couldn’t show up. He managed an entire department. With that plan in mind, Oliver pushed himself off the couch and went to take care of his morning bathroom routine. He’d wait to shower until he got back to his own apartment, but he did splash some water of his face and brush his teeth.

He went into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee and leave Felicity a note, and was surprised to find her standing at the sink. “Hey, what’re you doing up?”

She shook a bottle of pain pills at him. “Medicine time.”

“Oh.” Oliver walked to her. Mindful of her surgical sites, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into his body. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “How’d you sleep?”

“Okay,” she answered. “I can’t get used to sleeping flat on my back.”

He looked down at her. “It won’t be forever. Just until you heal up.” Oliver stepped back and started to pull the supplies he needed to make coffee. “You want some breakfast?”

“I could eat.” She watched him, unsure of what to say. This was the first time they’d been alone in days. “How’d you sleep?”

Oliver lifted a shoulder to answer. “Couch is fine. If it were six inches longer it’d be perfect.”

“Oliver, you should’ve made Mom take the couch.”

“No way,” he disagreed. “She’s your mother.”

“You’re my…” Felicity didn’t know how to finish that sentence. What was he? “Mom should’ve slept with me so you could have the bed.”

He’d wanted to hear what she was going to call him. What was he to her? “Next time,” he said instead. “But since she’s here through Wednesday morning, I thought I’d head back to my apartment tonight and tomorrow, and then come back once she leaves. Give you some time with her.”

“No!” Felicity said immediately. She reached up to cover her mouth, her eyes wide. “I mean—”

Oliver smiled. “No?” The coffee pot started to brew and he momentarily forgot about breakfast. He stepped forward and trapped her between his body and the kitchen island. “No?”

“What I meant was…” Felicity searched her brain for something to say. Anything to say other than what she said. But when she looked up at him, his eyes dancing and hopeful, she gave in. “What I meant was no. I want you to stay.” She reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I want you to stay here, with me. Like we planned.”

“Okay.” Oliver leaned down and pressed his forehead to hers. “I’ll stay.”

They were still standing like that minutes later when Donna walked in. Her hair was a mess and she was wrapped in a bright fuschia robe that stopped above her knees. It gaped slightly at her breasts, but Donna didn’t seem to notice or care. “Gd’morning. Is there coffee?”

“Mother, where are your clothes?” Felicity asked. She appreciated that Oliver immediately looked the other way. “There is a guest here!”

Donna reached up and cinched the robe closed at her chest. “Sorry, sorry.” She hurried to the cabinets and took down a coffee cup. “Don’t think I didn’t notice the canoodle I walked in on, young lady. We _will_ be discussing that later.”

“We weren’t canoodling, Mom.” Felicity shook her head and finally stepped away from Oliver. “If you get dressed, Oliver has offered to make us breakfast.”

“A man who _cooks,_ Dumpling?” Donna’s face light up with a megawatt smile. “You hit the jackpot baby!” She took her coffee and hurried back to the guest room.

When the door closed behind her, the occupants of the kitchen broke into fits of laughter. Felicity busied herself with making her own cup of coffee and took her pain pill. “I really shouldn’t laugh,” she observed. “It hurts when I do.”

“Hey, why don’t you go take it easy while I take care of breakfast?” He turned her in the direction of the couch and gave her a little push. “Sit down. Rest.”

“But—”

“Felicity,” he interrupted. Oliver pointed to the couch and waited until she walked in that direction. Once he was satisfied she’d listened to him, he started breakfast. Felicity wasn’t much of a cook, so the ingredients were limited, but there was enough for him to make some simple omelettes and toast. Oliver would have loved to have bacon (and eyed the pack that was hidden in her refrigerator with hunger) but he did not know Donna Smoak’s policy on sneaking pork products.

Within thirty minutes everyone was together at Felicity’s small, round dining table. “I think this is the first time this has ever been used for eating,” she observed. “Usually I just code here.”

“That will be changing,” Oliver commented. The two shared a look from across the table.

“Oliver, this looks wonderful.” Donna smiled at him. “Such a talented young man.”

He felt heat bloom across his cheeks. “Thank you, Donna.” Oliver noticed that Felicity was blushing, too. Good. “Everybody should eat before it gets cold.”

He’d had exactly two bites and was reaching for his toast when a knock sounded on the front door. He looked at Felicity. “Expecting someone?” She shook her head, her mouth too full to respond. Oliver sighed and pushed his chair back. “I got it.”

The very last person he expected to be standing on the other side of the door was Moira Queen, accompanied by her security detail. “Mom?”

The Queen Matriarch leaned in and brushed a kiss to her oldest child’s cheek. “Hello, Oliver.” She looked past him to the scene inside. “So this is where you’ve been spending your time recently? Aren’t you going to invite me?”

Oliver looked back at the two women who were waiting for him. Felicity’s eyes were wide with horror, but Donna was smiling. The older woman stood from the table and walked over. “Did I hear Oliver call you Mom?” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Donna Smoak, Felicity’s mother. How do you do? Won’t you please come inside?”

Moira turned and instructed the two security personnel to stay outside, and then followed Donna inside. Oliver closed the door behind her, and then leaned back against it. What _the fuck_ was happening?

His mother was walking around, inspecting the different living areas of Felicity’s condo. He’d always enjoyed Felicity’s quirky tastes, and how homey her home was, but seeing it now through Moira Queen’s eyes was… Oliver crossed the room and took his place beside Felicity. He reached down and intertwined their fingers, squeezing her hand. “Mom, what’re you doing here?”

The woman in question turned her attention back to him. “Aren’t you going to introduce us, Oliver?”

He could feel a headache coming on. A big one. “Mother, this is Felicity Smoak, and this is her home.” He glanced down at Felicity and his voice softened, “Felicity, this is my mother, Moira Queen.”

“Mayor Moira Queen,” his mother corrected. She offered her hand to Felicity. “I’m always pleased to meet one of my constituents.” Moira glanced at their intertwined fingers. “And one of Oliver’s friends.”

Felicity snapped out of her stupor. “Of course, Mrs. Queen.” She stepped forward and shook the offered hand. “I’m familiar with your husband, of course, since I work at Queen Consolidated. But I’m sorry we haven’t had the opportunity to meet yet.”

“You work at Queen Consolidated?” Moira pressed. “I see.”

“Yes,” Felicity answered. “I’m the Director of IT.”

“You’re very young.” Moira drew her lips together in a tight line. “As the Director of IT you would report to the CIO, Isabel Rochev.”

“I’m familiar with Ms. Rochev, yes.” Felicity was incredibly uncomfortable. First, she’d taken a pain killer less than an hour ago and it was starting to kick in so she was becoming less in control of her thoughts. Then, the _freaking Mayor_ was standing in her living room, but more importantly the Mayor was _Oliver’s Mom_ —which was something she knew in her head at all times, but it’d never been something she’d been faced with in reality—who was kind of super scary, and lastly she was wearing pajama pants with cupcakes printed on them, a camisole, a kind of ratty bra, and showing side boob. It was barely eight in the morning! “She is my direct supervisor, for now.”

“What do you mean, ‘for now’?” Moira asked.

She shouldn’t have said anything. Stupid pain pill. “It’s known within QC that our current VP of Technology is planning to retire at the end of this fiscal year, and the company will be looking to replace him. Under normal circumstances, Ms. Rochev would be his natural replacement, but—”

“Under normal circumstances?” the other woman interrupted.

“Yes,” Felicity answered. The two women studied each other carefully. The younger blonde quirked an eyebrow, but didn’t elaborate. “However, the feeling in the Technology Department is that Ms. Rochev does not have the skills to run the department as Mr. Dennis did.”

“You’re saying she’s not qualified,” Moira summarized.

Felicity nodded. “Exactly. I have two Master's degrees from MIT and Dr. Palmer has a Masters and Ph.D. from Caltech. And those are the likely internal candidates, Mrs. Queen. Once the job is advertised there will be other applicants.”

“I see.” Moira moved her gaze away from Felicity and to her son. “Your father tells me you’ve taken the week off work. And then you text last night and say you won’t be coming to dinner tonight?”

He shifted uneasily. “Felicity had surgery on Friday, and I don’t feel comfortable leaving her.” Oliver noticed when Felicity’s hand tightened around his. “I’ll be there next week, I promise.”

His mother nodded. “I see. This is two weeks in a row,” she noted. Moira glanced around the condo and sighed. “Why don’t I send Raisa over to straighten things up for you?” She looked at the half eaten breakfast behind them. “And with groceries?”

“That’s not necessary!” Felicity blurted out. “There’s three of us here, I’m sure we can handle it.”

“Nonsense. You should be resting.” Moira’s eyes lingered on her son. She’d never seen him in a setting like this. The last time she’d seen him _serious_ about a woman had been almost a decade ago, before he quit trying with Laurel Lance. In fact, when Laurel had brought up sharing an apartment it’d sent him running for the hills. “I’ll just have Raisa come here this week instead of your apartment, Oliver, since no one will be staying there. I’m sure it won’t be an inconvenience. Ms. Smoak if you’ll make a list for groceries, she can get them when she buys for our family.”

Oliver considered arguing more, but he knew his mother. She’d made up her mind and there was no point trying to change it. “Thank you.”

She nodded and turned her attention to Felicity’s mother. “Mrs. Smoak, if you feel so inclined, would you like to join me for lunch today?”

Donna, who had watched all of the exchanges with curiosity, perked up. “Oh, me? I’d love to!” She expected this woman would be her in-law, and probably sooner than later. Donna looked at Felicity. “Where should I meet you? I can borrow my Dum—Felicity’s car, and I’ll have her or Oliver program the directions into the GPS thingy before I leave.”

Moira waved her off. “Nonsense. We’ll pick you up, of course.” She glanced at her phone. “Would 12:30 work for you?”

“Of course.” Donna smiled, and started mentally cataloguing the clothes she’d brought. If she’d known she was going to have lunch with _the Mayor_ she might have brought something more conservative.

Oliver, who’d watched all of this was amusement stepped forward. “Mom, can I walk you down? I’m sure you need to get to the office.” When his mother agreed, he walked Felicity to the couch. “Stay here until I get back. Find us something to watch on Netflix.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead. The needed to have a talk soon.

His mother was waiting for him at the door and wrapped her arm around his. Her two security personnel hung back and gave them some privacy as they walked. His mother smiled at him. “You love her.”

There was no point in denying it. “I do. It seems that everyone knows.”

“Hmmm.” Moira considered her next actions carefully. Oliver had always worn his heart on his sleeve. He loved deeply and protected fiercely. “And she feels the same?”

“I believe so.” He looked down at her. “Why do you ask?”

“I didn’t know she worked at the company,” she noted.

“Mom,” Oliver sighed. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.” He shook his head and looked away. “I _know_ her. Felicity isn’t like that. She’s not using me to get ahead at the company, or to make a name for herself.”

“Oh, Oliver.” She wanted him to be right. “How do you know?”

“Because I’ve pursued her,” he answered. “I’ve loved her for… ever. I’ve known her for years, Mom. And never once has she asked me to do her a favor at the company, or to go to Dad for her. She gets pissed when I try to fight her battles, actually.

“Felicity is smart and funny and beautiful and could literally have anyone she wanted. But she has stood by me through thick and thin. She is my best friend. I’m in love with her,” he confessed. “She’s not after my name or my money. And I just want to make her happy.”

Her beautiful boy was so much like her it hurt. She’d married Robert Queen for many of the same reasons he’d just named, but Robert had hurt her over and over again. “You’re telling me that she’s the one?” When Oliver nodded, Moira wrapped him in a hug. Even though she still had concerns, she’d keep them to herself. She could wait. “Okay.”

Later, after Moira had returned and taken Donna to lunch, Oliver and Felicity were alone for the first time in days. His arm was wrapped around her and she was tucked into his body. The green cashmere blanket Oliver slept under the previous night was covering them both. They were contentedly watching _Guardians of the Galaxy_ on Netflix. Until Felicity paused the TV.

“Felicity?” Oliver questioned.

“I need to say something, and I need you to let me say it, okay?” When he nodded she began, “So this thing between us… it’s happening, right? You feel it, too?” Again, he nodded. “You are my very best friend in the whole world, you know that right? And the idea of losing that, of losing you, that terrifies me. But what terrifies me more is that someday, I’ll look at you and see you looking at someone else the way I see you look at me sometimes. I can’t imagine how it would feel if I had to watch you with someone else on your arm or if you kissed someone else in front of me.

“There’s a reason why everyone assumes we’re in a relationship, I think. Because we’ve basically been in one for years, except neither of us has acknowledged it or done anything to change the status quo. I think we’ve both been too afraid of upsetting the apple cart. But then my body decided to go haywire and it brought all of these _feelings_ to the surface, and I can’t ignore them anymore Oliver. I’m… I’m crazy in love with you. I have been for... “ Felicity felt tears prick her eyes, but she blinked them away. “I don’t even know how long. I was in the middle of it before I even realized it, so it’s not like I can point to one moment. When I was alone in the dark, I used to tell myself it wasn’t worth the risk of our friendship, because I couldn’t lose you. But, the thing is, I think you feel the same way.”

“I do,” he agreed. “Was it okay that I said that?”

Felicity laughed. “Yes.”

“I’m going to kiss you now, okay?”

“Very okay,” she agreed.

Oliver was hesitant at first and kept the kiss just on the other side of chaste, not wanting to overwhelm her, but when Felicity moaned his restraint broke. When her lips softened, he licked at them with his tongue. She opened for him and he accepted the invitation. She tasted like a mixture of coffee and toothpaste, and something that was uniquely Felicity. He knew instantly he’d never get enough of it. He ran his hand down her neck to her breasts and squeezed and she moaned again.

He left her lips and started pressing kisses to her cheeks. Everything about her tasted so good. His hand found her puckered nipple through her shirt and he pinched it. Her hips bucked against him. “Easy,” he reminded her. Oliver tugged her earlobe between his teeth and nibbled. He wanted more, but he held himself back. She’d had surgery three days ago. There was no way anything but some light petting was happening today.

Oliver found his way back to her mouth and didn’t hesitate to plunge his tongue inside. His hand dipped under the top of her tank top and into her bra. He rolled her bare nipple between his fingers and listened to her whimpers and pleas. They made his blood sing and head south to his groin.

Felicity removed one of her hands from his hair and went to palm his growing erection. She rubbed him through his jeans, causing him to grow larger. Oliver pulled away and gasped, “We have to stop.” He pressed a kiss to her chin and down her neck. His mouth reached the top of her breast and he pulled it out from her shirt and bra. “Make me stop, Felicity.”

“Nooo,” she protested. “Feels good.”

Oliver traced his tongue around the sensitive skin, getting closer and closer to the nipple. When he reached it, he pulled the puckered bud between his teeth. She bucked her hips again, but this time it was accompanied by an, “Ow!” It broke through his lust-clouded brain and he looked up to see the pain written on her face.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Felicity shook her head. “I’m fine. It’s fine.” She tried to press his mouth back to her breast, but he resisted. “Oliver,” she whined.

He pressed one more kiss to the budded nipple and then carefully tucked her entire breast back into her bra cup and fixed her tank top. “I think that’s a sign you need another pain pill. It’s been almost six hours.”

“It’s been longer than six hours,” she groused. Felicity wasn’t talking about a pain pill.

Oliver pressed a hard kiss to her lips and pushed himself up. He made a show of shifting his erection before he walked into the kitchen. “You want a soda or water?”

“How about a Screaming Orgasm?” she requested.

He laughed. “Water it is, then.” Oliver shook a pill out into his palm. “We should start thinking about getting some lunch. I guess I could call Raisa and ask her if she’ll pick something up?”

Felicity made a face. “I can’t believe your mother showed up here. How’d she even know where I lived?”

“I imagine she asked Walter.” Oliver gave her the pill and water. “What do you want for lunch?”

“Walter?” she repeated. “Mr. Steele?”

“Yep,” he popped the p. “He and my mother are…” Oliver trailed off. “My family is messy.”

“WOW!” Felicity exclaimed. “I had no idea. They are certainly more discreet than your father and Isabel.”

Oliver made a face. “Isabel is... discreet is not a word one should associate with her.”

“I can’t believe it,” she commented. “Your mom and Walter!” Felicity shook her head, still trying to wrap her mind around what he’d told her. “You know, I’m really surprised with your history that you’re still here… I mean, you’re not known for being committed and hanging around, and with everything going on with me right now, I sort of expected you to run away.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” Oliver promised. He leaned in and kissed her again. “So, lunch?”

Felicity ignored his question. “I mean, you’re going into this knowing that I’m thinking about having a baby. And not in five or ten years, but like _right now having a baby._ The Oliver I met way back when would’ve hightailed it out of here by now.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he repeated. He’d say it as many times as needed to. As many times as she needed to hear it until she believed it was true. “You’re it for me, Felicity Megan Smoak. So what difference does it make if we have a baby in five or ten years or if we have a baby right now?” He reached down and took her hand before pressing a kiss to the back of it. “So if you want a baby, let’s have a baby.”

It took a moment as she replayed his words in her head. She turned to study him, but his face gave away nothing. Was he joking right now? If he was joking, she was going to kill him. But what if he wasn’t joking? Was he being serious? Did she ask? She had to ask, right? She was going to ask… but what if he was joking? Did she want him to be joking? Did she want him to be serious?

Felicity was startled to realize that yes, she wanted him to be serious. And she would have to ask if he was. She sighed. Why did it suddenly feel like her entire future hinged on the answer to this question?

* * *

So that's where I stopped at. 

Next Chapter: Felicity begins treatment. 

 


	11. Author’s Note

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a few words about where I’ve been...

‘Alo, 

i just wanted to take a moment and respond to the messages some of you have left regarding updates on this fic. When I finished the story I posted during May/June, I took a pretty big break from fandom. I found myself pretty disgusted/disappointed with the behavior of Stephen Amell and wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue to watch the show (basically I needed to separate SA from Oliver in my head). I didn’t come back to fic until after the show premiered a month ago, and I still haven’t written anything. Yet. But I do have plans. One of the big plans, possibly the biggest, is to finish this story.

As many of you know this story is *my* story. And I’ve been so touched by all of you who have reached out to say it’s your story too. So I just need a bit more time to get back to it. I spent my summer canvassing for local and national politicians and essentially not being at home. I lost contact with my beta, and a number of fandom friends, but... I took care of my soul. 

Thanks so much to all of you who understand. And if you don’t, then I can’t change your mind. I’ll be in touch. 

 

-cee


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